The Truth Beneath The Rose
by dreamfall07
Summary: Lightning is the CEO of a huge and influential weapon company (swords and guns). There she meets her new employee Fang. How will they get along? Will Lightning's secret be revealed? See and find out! Full summary inside. (FLight)
1. Chapter 1

Hi there

This is my first attempt to write a story about Lightning and Fang. I've read quite a few stories and here I am, finally posting one of my own. Please let me know what you think and if it is worth to continue this story. ?

As for the title, it is the song of Within Temptation. I thought it would fit perfectly. (Just the title, not the content of the song.)

Thanks for reading!

Have a great day!

PS: I'm also a BETA-Reader. Just for your information.

Check out my profile;)

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Summary:

Lightning is the CEO of a huge and influential weapon company (swords and guns). She is very seclusive, strict, and not easy to talk to, but fair to her employees nonetheless. There is a reason for her behavior though; she has a secret, a big one. A guardian named Odin. She can summon the god of thunder at will. Only one child in every century bears this power. A gift and a curse at times. Only her sister Serah knows about her secret. Little does she know, that a certain brunette will soon discover more than just her magical powers. Will Lightning let her in? (FLight)

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Chapter 1: New job, new challenge

It was Monday and it started as bad as the last week had ended. One of her best employees would leave the company this week and she still hadn't found a suitable replacement. Maybe her expectations were too high, but she needed the best for the job as Director of the Swords Department, mainly because it was the department with the most profit and she personally preferred swords more than guns. She, of course, wouldn't admit that out loud.

 _Sigh . . ._

Today only one woman applied for the job and the interview would be in half an hour. If she also turned out to be not sufficient qualified than Lightning would have a big problem. Of course, she could do the work by herself, but that meant more time at work and it would definitely cut short her precious time with her beloved sister Serah.

 _She wouldn't like that._ Lightning thought.

After they had lost their parents, they only had each other and Lightning treasured the rare moments between them even more. Therefore, this was definitely no option.

Silently she prayed to Etro that this would be the last job interview she had to endure.

Lightning looked down at the job application and memorized the few important details she wanted to ask.

 _Mh . . she worked for one of our competitors. Let's see. . .almost 1 year. I wonder why she quit her job after only 1 year. . . I hope that she isn't one of these job hoppers who lose interest after a short amount of time and leave more chaos than before._

Time flew by and soon Lightning heard a knock at her door, signaling that the job attendant was waiting outside. A quick glance at the clock showed her, that she was punctual. She liked that.

"Please, come in." Lightning addressed the person behind the still closed door.

The said door opened slowly and a drop-dead gorgeous brunette entered Lighning's office. She was wearing a black dress with a few dark blue patterns. Let's just say, that it complimented her figure very nicely. Good for Lightning that she was a master at keeping her facial expression neutral, otherwise she would have definitely drooled on her table. Not a good first impression if your boss looks like a moron.

"Hi, you must be Ms. Farron." Her voice was deep and pleasant. It left goosebumps on Lightning's arms. Luckily, she wore one of her long-armed white blouses.

Lightning remembered her good manners, stood and walked up to the woman and held her hand out.

"Yes, nice to meet you Ms. Oerba. Please . . . have a seat." Lightning gestured to the chair in front of her desk and then walked around to take a seat herself.

"Thank you." Fang smiled and sat down.

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After one hour, Lightning was positively surprised that Ms Fang Oerba really understood her job so far, would be a great support, and would complement her team perfectly. There was just one point that made Lightning a little bit uneasy. Even if she fit perfectly and had a great knowledge, she still left her old job after one year. She wanted and needed to know the reason.

"So far everything fits perfectly, but. . .I saw, that you quit your old job very fast and. . . I want to know why. I don't want to hire a new employee and loose them after a few months."

Fang nodded understandingly and replied. "Of course, that's quite understandable." She smiled and continued. "Let's just say my former boss didn't just want me as an employee after a short while. As he got a little to persistent I . . . please excuse my wording, but I punched his sorry ass right through his lovely desk."

Even under these serious circumstances, Lightning couldn't hide her smile. The imagination of this delicate woman just throwing her boss around his office was quite amusing. Fang saw this and smiled in return.

 _Seems like she isn't that uptight as I first thought. Good no know._

"Seems like there is no reason as to not employ you. Welcome to the company." Lightning held out her hand once again and Fang responded happily in kind.

"Thank you." Her smile was beautiful.

"So about your tasks, I would like to set a meeting for tomorrow, so that we can look at the current and upcoming projects. If it's okay with you, I would like to show you your office and you can settle in today. If you have any further questions, don't hesitate to ask."

"Okay, thanks again. I won't let you down."

"Good to hear." Lightning said and motioned for the door.

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"This is your new office." Lightning said, as she opened the door to let Fang go in first.

The room was huge. On the right side was a very comfortable looking black leather couch and a small glass table. On the left was a huge, also black, cupboard along the whole wall. Moreover, at the far end was her new working place, a huge black desk. However, what impressed her the most was the scenery behind the desk.. The room was illuminated by the light coming from the large windows, showing the ocean view.

"I hope you like it." Lightning got Fang out of her daydreaming state.

"Y-yes, it's absolutely breathtaking." She responded still in awe.

"Good, then I will leave you alone, so that you can prepare for our meeting tomorrow." She closed the door silently and Fang was alone in her new office.

 _Wow, I've never thought I would be this lucky._

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Lightning returned to her own office and sat down. Looking at the still open folder on her desk.

 _I hope I made the right decision. Let's see how you fit in Fang Oerba._

Closing the folder and safely putting it away in her drawer, she concentrated on her work again.

In one of her training sessions, her temper got a little bit out of hand and she almost destroyed her favorite gunblade "Blazefire Saber". The gunblade was quite extraordinary so she didn't want any other person to handle it.

 _Sigh . . . should have watched out better . . ._

The problem was, that she couldn't transform it into a gun anymore. The mechanism was stuck or broken somewhere. Therefore, she needed to take the whole gunblade apart, but that didn't solve the problem at all. She couldn't find the reason and it was driving her crazy.

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Meanwhile Fang had called her sister to tell her the great news.

"Vanille? Guess what, I got the job." She almost screamed aloud.

"Great Fang. Congratulations!" Vanille answered happily. "Hopefully your boss is nicer than the last one."

"Don't worry. My new boss is a woman and I don't think that I have to fear anything from her. I guess she's as straight as someone can be." Fang sighed.

"You sound disappointed." Vanille grinned. "Could it be that you already have the hots for your new boss?"

"Vanille! You have to be blind not see how gorgeous she is, but she is my boss, so. . ." She trailed off.

"But still you want to get into her pants."

"Stop accusing me of acting like a horny teenager." She pouted.

"Okay, okay, I stop bugging you. . .for now."

"Thanks, that's all I ask. So, how about we celebrate when I get back home?"

"Yes, of course. I'll order the food and you get the alcohol flowing." Vanille cheered.

"Yes, alcohol for me and juice for you." Fang singsonged.

"You are so mean." She could hear the big pout.

"And you are underage. So stop the pouting and prepare the party."

"Yes, boss. See ya."

"Yeah, till later sis."

Fang shook her head, her sister was just unbelievable, but the sweetest person on earth nonetheless.

 _Time to get back to work. Need to prepare for tomorrow._

Fang wondered why her boss hadn't shown her anything regarding work, but she guessed that she just wanted to see how fast she could adapt to a new position and all.

 _I'll just have to show her how good I am._

With this thought in mind, she started the computer and looked at the grand list of project the company worked on right now.

After hours of looking through lists of different kinds of weapons, timelines and statistics, something caught her eye and sparked her interest.

"Blazefire Saber . . ." She read aloud. "Mh . . .let's see. . .Some reports about a broken mechanism that's . . .wow . . . an amazing weapon. A sword and a gun in one. Interesting design. According to the analysis, they couldn't identify the problem. Sounds like a tough case." Fang desperately wanted to take a look at the weapon, but was not sure if this would be such a good idea on her first day.

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Lightning was exhausted after hours of searching for the problem, so that she could get her precious gunblade repaired.

She decided that sitting in front of the computer would definitely not help to solve the problem, so she went down to the labs and trying once again to repair the gunblade herself.

What she didn't expect was the person that was already there, next to her weapon and observing it closely.

Fang Oerba.

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Fang just wanted to touch the weapon as a deep, strong voice stopped her dead in her tracks.

"What are you doing here?"

 _Shit_. Was all she thought as she turned around and looked into the angry eyes of her superior.

"I . . ." She was at a loss for words. _She looks even more beautiful when her eyes are burning with anger. Unfortunately, it is directed at me. Sigh . . . there probably goes my new job._

"I just wanted to look at this gunblade, because I looked over the analysis. Let's say I was very curious to see it up close. Such a beauty." As her last sentence left her mouth she didn't only mean the gunblade and she was sure, that her boss caught the meaning as well. But Lightning decided against any further comment, instead she concentrated again on the weapon.

"So . . .what is your professional opinion. Any suggestions how to repair the gunblade?" She wasn't quite sure why she asked, but she was really curious what her new employee thought about the weapon.

Fang saw the challenge and decided to proof that she was capable of handling every task thrown at her.

She turned around again, facing the weapon and looked over her shoulder.

"May I?" She reached out to touch the weapon, but waited for Lightning's approval.

She nodded and silently observed how Fang carefully analyzed the weapon.

Minutes past and Lightning got a tad nervous because Fang didn't say anything. She just looked closely at every part.

 _Found you, you little bugger._ Fang cheered in her head. Deep inside the weapon, there was a small broken connection, not bigger than a fingernail.

"Ms Farron?" Fang addressed her superior.

"Yes? You found something?" Fang heard the hopeful undertone, but was wise enough as to not comment on it.

"Yeah, I can show you."

Lightning walked closer until she was right next to Fang. The brunette pointed at the middle of the hilt.

"I can't see anything." Lightning stated irritated.

"It's very small, but there is a broken connection. If we fix this, then it should work properly again."

Lightning slightly bowed down and indeed, there it was. _How could I have overseen this?_

She straightened up again, facing Fang and only now realizing how close they were.

"Good work." Her voice sounded hoarser than normal and she could feel a blush rising to her cheeks.

The sound of Lightning's deep voice left a tingly feeling in Fang's whole body.

"Thank you." She responded with a sincere smile. "Do you have the spare parts here? I could fix it right now."

Lightning's skeptical look almost hurt Fang's pride.

"I can repair it, don't look so worried." She emphasized the word 'can' a little bit more than necessary.

"You are aware, that if you damage it any further your first day will be your last one here at the company?"

Fang only nodded.

"Okay, then go ahead. Every spare part regarding this weapon is stored in this room." She pointed at a door with a sign: Blazefire Saber – Property of . . . Fang didn't dare to read the last words. She gulped audibly. _So this is the reason why she acts so protective over the weapon. Property of Lightning C. Farron. Oh man, I sure know how to make my first day a bad one._

Not showing any sign of nervousness Fang walked to the door, opened it and looked at the various items stored in there. Wow, there are enough parts to build hundreds of these gunblades.

She immediately found the spare part she was looking for, because everything was precisely named and sorted _. She probably did it herself._ She smiled at the thought that the mighty Lightning Farron stood in this room, sorting items the whole day.

Fang still smiled as she walked out of the room again.

"You've got everything you need?" Lightning got Fang out of her daydreaming state.

"You've bet." She replied and without further distraction, she started working on the weapon. She was aware that Lightning's eyes followed her every move.

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Lightning started to get impatient. Fang "repaired" the weapon for two hours straight already. What if she destroyed it now completely and didn't want to confront Lightning.

"You know. . . " Fang started. "It would be a lot easier to concentrate if you stopped your pacing."

Lightning stopped, her teal eyes meeting Fang's forest green ones.

"And you know that you talk to your boss right now?" Lightning reminded her.

"Yes, I am aware of that, but it doesn't change the fact that you disturb my concentration like this." She answered honestly.

 _Sigh . . . Lightning, come one, don't be such a nuisance. She tries to help._

"I'm sorry . . ." She said very quietly, so that Fang almost didn't catch it.

"Me too. . . and thanks." She smiled.

"Why are you thanking me?" Lightning was confused.

"You stopped pacing." Fang grinned.

"I . . . " Lightning didn't know what to say. She slightly blushed again. It never happened before that she did something just a random stranger asked of her.

Sensing her boss' distress Fang offered an option. "Don't worry, I won't tell your other employees that you've got a soft spot." She winked at Lightning, liking how the blush got a little bit deeper.

The rose haired woman didn't know how to reply to such bluntness, so she stayed silent and just glared at her new employee.

A few minutes later she heard Fang say: "I'm done."

"You did it?" Lightning still didn't believe that Fang was capable of repairing her precious gunblade.

"Wanna try it out?" Fang challenged her, handing her the repaired weapon.

Lightning took it and made a few moves to get the feeling for her weapon back. Then she glanced at Fang. Her eyes burned, not with anger, but with the fire of a wild and untamed warrior.

Fang liked this new side of her boss very much. "How about a training match? Let's see if your work is as good as you think."

Not one do bow down before a challenge Fang accepted immediately.

"I would gladly take that offer." She bowed down.

"Good, take every weapon you like. The choice is yours." Lightning pointed at a wall where all kinds of weapons were displayed.

Fang directly took the lance at the end of the row, swiveled it around her body a few times until she was satisfied with her movement.

"Impressive, never thought you could actually wield a weapon like this." Lightning voiced her thoughts.

"I'm full of surprises." She smirked and directed her weapon at Lightning. "Before we start, we should name the reward for the winner."

"What do you suggest?" Lightning didn't like the smirk on Fang's face one bit.

"If I win, I want to know what the 'C' stands for in your name." She grinned.

Taken by surprise Lightning just looked at Fang. _Why do you want to know?_

"Tsk . . .whatever floats your boat." Lightning retorted a little bit annoyed.

 _I got her angry. . .this should be fun. Now I want to know your name even more._

"What do you want?" Fang asked curiously.

"Simple, you work at the company for free . . . a whole month." Lightning took her stance, ready to charge.

"Deal."

They both charged in at the same time. Their weapons colliding heavily against each other.

 _She's strong._ Lightning thought and smiled slightly. Finally, she got a real challenge.

 _She should smile more often. She's even more beautiful like this._ Fang thought.

They jumped back and just looked at each other. Trying to predict the next move.

"I've never thought that I would find such a good sparring partner. Where did you learn to fight?" Lightning asked.

"This . . .you will get the answer to when you defeat me." Fang grinned and charged in again. Her lance behind her back and swinging it at Lightning at the last second before Lightning's sword could hit her. Their weapons clashed against each other, the loud clanking noise ranging around the room. Sparkles flying everywhere as the weapons slid along each other.

Suddenly Lightning lessoned her strength, so that Fang fell slightly forward. She used this opening ducked under the lance and kneed Fang into her gut. Then Lightning jumped back at a safe distance and saw Fang getting down on one knee, taking her lance as aid.

She looked up and faced the rose haired woman. "That hurt . . .cough . . "

Lightning smirked and pointed her sword at Fang. "Was meant to . . .So . . . wanna give up?"

Fang struggled a bit to stand up again, but just laughed it off and responded: "Not on your life."

She started running and evaded Lightning's sword, as she jumped high above her stunned boss, using her lance as a support, she landed directly behind the surprised teal-eyed woman and swung her lance, so that it took Lightning off her feet in the process. Mid-fall she felt a hard shove to her back by Fang and flew right into the next wall.

She collided, right shoulder first, with the white wall and then sunk down on the ground. She lay there for a few seconds until she slowly got on her knees, her trusted sword still in her hands.

She coughed up blood and faced the brunette with fury in her eyes. She wiped away the blood that trickled down her chin and shakily stood up, almost falling in the process. _Shit, this was a hard blow. Almost knocked me out. I shouldn't underestimate her again._

"You sure you want to continue?" Fang asked a little bit worried.

She knew her strength and was quite surprised that her boss could still stay after this blow. Normal people would have fainted before colliding with the wall, because she hit a very sensitive spot on her back.

"Of course, this is not gonna stop me." Lightning charged at Fang, determined to beat her and take revenge on the embarrassment she felt for getting hit by a total stranger.

Thinking, that Lightning would try to strike her with the sword again she strengthened her stance and prepared for the blow. What she didn't expect was for Lightning to change her weapon into a gun and fire some shots at her. Luckily, she was fast enough to dodge all but one bullet. This scratched her upper right arm and blood soon after trickled down her arm.

 _That was close. It's payback time sweetie._

Fang prepared for one final attack and once again jumped high above Lightning, who tried to stop her by firing bullets at her. Fang used her weapon like a moving shield and this time no bullets got through.

She tightened her grip on the lance and with a powerful swing; she unleashed the special ability of this weapon. It was a long ranged weapon. That meant that she could extend the blade and reach her opponent even if they were meters away.

Now she could reach Lightning from a safe distance, who seemed so surprised that it took a second too long for her to evade the attack. Fang's lance swirled around Lightning and after one strong pull she was embraced and therefore trapped by Fang, not able to move.

"Hnngh . . ."

 _I got you sunshine_. Fang grinned triumphantly, landing at a still safe distance. Another pull and the grip on Lightning got even stronger, so that she was forced to let her gunblade fall to the floor.

Fang walked gracefully right up to Lightning, her smile still in place.

"I would say it's game over for you." She was now right in front of the trapped woman and waited for her acknowledgement.

However, Lightning was far from giving up. She used her last strength and knocked her head right into Fang's who groaned in pain and fell backwards by the sudden forth. Lightning following suit, landing right on top of the brunette.

"Ow . . ." Fang groaned again. She wanted to rub the spot on her head where she knew a bump would form soon, but stopped dead in her tracks as she felt the additional weight on her body. She opened her eyes and saw right into the teal eyes of her superior, who also looked slightly in pain.

Fang realized, that her left hand stayed on Lightning's back to keep her from falling off, because she was still trapped by her weapon and couldn't break a fall with her own hands.

 _She looks even more stunning up close_. Fang realized, but was interrupted by Lightning's deep voice.

"Do you mind letting me go?" She demanded a little bit irritated.

"Y-yes, of course." Fang leaned up, so that she could move her weapon and free Lightning in the process. Then she laid down her weapon and looked at the rose haired woman who sat now beside her on the floor.

"So . . .you tell me the mysterious name of yours?" Fang asked into the silence.

"Why should I? You didn't win." Lightning responded.

"Excuse me? I think I got you quite good."

"I don't think so. I knocked you down at last." Lightning reasoned.

"The last one wasn't necessary, don't you think? I've got you and you know that, but you are too proud to acknowledge it." Fang answered a little bit angry.

"I didn't know that we established rules to stop fighting at such a moment. In a fight you don't stop till your opponent can't fight anymore."

"I thought I did just that."

"No, otherwise I wouldn't have had the chance to knock you down."

"Okay, I see, I can't win against the logic of yours." Fang sighed and held out her hand. "Thanks for the training nonetheless."

"Tch . . . I don't need you to thank me." Lightning stood, took her weapon and left Fang sitting on the floor alone.

 _I think she's not very good at handling a defeat_. Fang smiled to herself and also took off.

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Lightning was back in her office; her gunblade lay on her desk. She wanted to check if everything was all right after their fight.

 _This woman is really unbelievable. Tch . . . she definitely didn't win. I mean, if this had been a fight until death then I . . ._

Lightning thought about the last moments again. _Sigh . . . she was right. I would've still been trapped by her weapon and at her mercy._

She didn't like to admit it, but Fang had won the battle quite and fair. She was just a sore loser.

A look at the clock told her, that Serah would await her in half an hour for dinner. That meant that they sparred for almost two hours.

She shut down her computer, sheathed her gunblade and walked out of her office.

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Meanwhile Fang was on her way back home. She had walked directly to her car after the fight. Not having the energy to concentrate on work again.

Deep in thought, she entered the house she lived in together with her sister Vanille. In the kitchen, she found her sister preparing dinner.

"Hi Vanille, I'm back." She greeted happily.

Vanille turned around and just wanted to greet her sister as she saw the beat up state she was in.

Full of concern she ran up to Fang and asked: "What happened? Who did that to you? Oh my god, you are bleeding."

"Don't worry, Vanille, it's just a scratch." Fang reassured the orange-head.

"But how did that happen? I thought you had a safe office job? You know, just sorting files and taking phone calls."

"Yeah, I got this kind of job, but I . . . I got in a fight with my new boss."

"You what!? Are you crazy? On your first day?"

"Slow down, Vanille. It is not what you think. She asked me to train with her. And let's just say it was quite the intense training." She smiled upon remembering her fight with Lightning.

"So . . . you still have your job?" Vanille asked carefully.

"Of course, don't worry." She ruffled Vanille's hair. "So, what's for dinner?"

"That's a surprise. Now go, set the table. Dinner will be ready shortly."

"As you wish, princess."

Fang still smiled as she left the kitchen.

 _Can't wait to see you again Lightning C. Farron._

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Lightning luckily arrived just in time. Her sister Serah waited in the living room, already sitting at the set table.

"Hello Lightning." Serah smiled. "You made it."

"Yeah, but just barely. I've been held back by something. Sorry . . ." Lightning apologized.

"Don't worry. You are here, that's all that counts."

"Yeah . . ."

Just as Lightning wanted to sit down, Serah took a loud intake.

"W-what happened to you? Your lip is bleeding and there are bruises forming on your arms." She rushed over to her older sister.

"Don't worry, I had a little rough training session with my new employee."

"But. . ."

"Really Serah, I appreciate your concern, but I will be just a bit sore tomorrow, nothing to worry about. Believe me." Lightning reassured her sibling.

"But why did you fight?"

"She . . . she repaired my gunblade and we somehow ended up fighting." Lightning slightly smiled.

"You are smiling, Light. So it was good?" Serah smirked.

Lightning frowned and responded. "Not really, I lost. . ."

"You . . . you lost? The mighty CEO lost?" Serah couldn't believe it.

"Yes . . ."

"You don't look so bothered." Serah noticed.

"I know, but . . . she was really good. I do mind the losing part, but it was a really refreshing challenge. I liked it."

"Then you don't plan on firing her for beating you?" Serah asked to be sure.

"No, of course not. What do you think of me?"

"Just making sure."

"Thanks for your trust in me." Lightning sulked.

"Come on, it was a small joke."

"Yeah . . .yeah . . .let's eat. . ."

Lightning and Serah sat down at the table and enjoyed the delicious meal.

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After dinner, Lightning stayed awake in bed, reading a book and occasionally glancing at her gunblade.

She remembered Fang's face after she was faced with Lightning's special logic. _Would she have accepted my refusal to acknowledge her victory if I hadn't been her boss? Or would she have argued more?_

Normally she would have given Fang her price for winning the battle, but she refused to tell a total stranger her real name. Why should she tell her? She didn't like to be called by her given name. Only Serah was allowed to do that.

So if she told Fang her real name, she would probably call her like that in no time. This would be just too intimate for Lightning.

However, another thought occurred to her. As Fang named her price she didn't argue back, instead she had accepted the challenge right away. Maybe her subconscious mind told her that she could trust Fang, even if she won and demanded her price in return.

 _Maybe I'm thinking too much about the whole situation. Let's see what'll happen tomorrow._ With this thought in mind Lightning closed her book, covered herself with the blanket and let sleep take over her.

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Wow, that was a long first chapter O_O

I just couldn't stop writing and so I wrote it down in one day. ^^ Okay, it took a few days longer to revise it and find some mistakes (I think there are still plenty though)

Hope you liked the first chapter. I'll try to update the next one asap, but it will probably take a month till you can read the next one. Real life is going to be stressful the next few days. ^^


	2. Chapter 2

Hi there,

finally a new chapter! Hope you like this one as well!

Have fun reading!

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Chapter 2: Rematch and Revelation

Lightning arrived very early at work, but instead of going right away to her own office, her feet took her to the lab office where she had fought with her new employee yesterday.

Right in front of the door, her hand stopped shortly before touching the door handle.

 _Why am I here?_ Shaking her head about her odd behavior, she just wanted to turn around, but suddenly she heard a very familiar voice coming from the other side.

 _This can't be._

Slowly Lightning opened the door and saw Fang Oerba in the training room, using the lance she had fought with the day before. _What is she doing here?_

Lightning observed her for a few minutes longer. Seeing, that she made the same move over and over again.

Fang was frustrated. She had thought about her technique almost the entire night. It disturbed her, that her boss had been able to hit her, even if it was just one bullet. Her defense needed adjustment and very urgently, but it was difficult to train, when your only opponent was the air in front of you.

 _This is getting me nowhere._ Fang sighed and stilled her movement.

"Problems?"

Fang turned around, her weapon ready to attack. As she recognized the woman standing in front of her she lowered her weapon and took a more relaxing stance.

"You could say that." She smiled. _So, I am not the only one who thought about our little fight._

"I didn't think that I would meet someone this early. Normally nobody is here before eight o'clock." Lightning tried to fill the silence.

"I guess, I couldn't sleep." She replied sheepishly. "I thought about our fight and wanted to improve on various skills and I train at best in the mornings."

"I see." Lightning only responded.

"I hope it's okay for you. I mean. . . " Lightning held her hand up and stopped Fang's rambling.

"It is, even though I'm quite surprised that you took this fight so seriously."

"I assume you do too, otherwise you wouldn't have stopped here. Am I right?" Fang questioned, but hid a knowing smile.

Her only answer was a cough and a sweet little blush grazing Lightning's otherwise pale cheeks.

"Your silence is answer enough." Fang said and smirked.

"I . . . " Lightning didn't know how to respond. The otherwise fierce and eloquent CEO was gone when talking to Fang.

"Don't worry, another secret I won't tell about you." Fang winked.

Deciding to ignore the brunette's comments for now, Lightning asked Fang about the skills she wanted to improve.

"You see, as we fought I used my lance as a moving shield. It worked until one of your bullets went right through. I don't know if the speed of my movement was too slow or if I took the wrong angle. But it's difficult to find out on my own." She gazed at Lightning with a hopeful glint in her eyes.

Lightning grabbed behind her back at took her gunblade out of it's sheathe.

"How about a rematch?" Her eyes glinted with fire.

"Gladly." Fang smiled and readied her lance.

Lightning charged in, a smile on her lips. She jumped high above Fang, transformed her sword into a gun and fired all she's got.

Fang stopped the hail of bullets right before it reached her, using a strong swing to re-direct their way. As she did that, she lost sight of Lightning for only a few seconds, enough for her opponent to turn her gun back and swing her sword with all her might at Fang.

Just in time, she faced the rose-haired woman again. Her lance colliding fiercely with Lightning's sword. Sparkles flying in every direction.

"Not bad." Fang challenged.

Lightning pressed even more against Fang's lance. Not liking the high and mighty tone of Fang's voice.

 _I've got you now, sunshine._ Fang smirked.

She used the same trick Lightning had used on her before. She lessoned her strength within seconds, kneed the surprised fighter hard into her gut and then sent her flying back with a hard blow of her lance, right into the next wall.

Lightning collided with full force unable to lighten the hit. _Shit . . ._ With this last thought her mind blanked and she sank to the floor. Her knees hitting the floor first and the rest of her body followed suit until she lay face down on the ground.

Behind Lightning, pieces of the wall she just hit crumbled on the ground.

 _I think I overdid it this time._ Fang looked worried at the fallen CEO, who laid unmoving on the ground.

Cautiously she walked right up to Lightning and kneeled down next to her. Just as she wanted to touch her shoulder a bright crimson light engulfed the unconsciousness woman and sent the brunette flying back.

She hit the floor pretty hard. _Damn . . .what was that?_ Just before she could stand up again something hit her head very hard, sending her unconsciousness directly. The only thing she saw in this short moment was a soldier clad in green, golden and white armor.

Then the world around her went blank.

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Lightning awoke with a big headache and her whole body was in pain. She could still feel the after effects of the blow. _That hurt . . .ungh . . ._

She used her strength to push herself up and sit on her knees to clear her head. _She's really powerful. One blow and I've been knocked out cold. Impressive._

Clearing her vision, she looked around. _Where is Fang? By now, she would've definitely made a rude remark._ Lightning thought.

Then she saw a lone figure laying on the ground, blood pooling around her head.

"FANG!" Lightning screamed, ignoring that they weren't on a first name basis. She scrambled to her feet and ran up to the unconsciousness woman.

Slowly sinking to her knees, she looked for the wound on the poor woman. Carefully she placed her hand on the injured woman and turned her head gently. The blood was leaking from a huge scratch on her head. _How did this happen?_

Lightning couldn't remember hitting Fang this hard, so why was she knocked out on the floor?

A dreadful thought forming in her head, Lightning tried to find an explanation. _This can't be . . . Odin . . ._ Her guardian must have thought she was in danger and had attacked Fang in the process. _No . . .please no . . ._

Carefully scooping the injured woman into her arms, she carried her bridal-style to the company's infirmary. Luckily, it was still early, so only a handful of people walked around the halls. She ignored their curious stares and sent a few glares in their direction. They immediately looked away and busied themselves with whatever work they had.

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After entering the infirmary, Lightning laid the hurt woman gently onto a nearby bed. Calling for the nurse, she stated the facts, of course leaving the details about Odin out of the picture.

Half an hour later Fang's head was bandaged and she was sleeping peacefully. The nurse told her, that she would probably wake up in the next hour, with a bad headache. The medication was next to Fang on the small table, if the pain would be too great to bear.

 _I'm so sorry._ Lightning apologized. Had she known that something like this might happen, she would have never agreed to fight with Fang in the first place.

"Nngh . . ."

Lightning looked up to see the brunette slightly steer in the bed.

"Gah . . .my head." Fang complained.

She held her head with her right hand, finding it bandaged. That confused her even more. _Where am I? What happened?_

Slowly she opened her eyes, only to find worried rose-colored eyes looking back at her.

"Ms Farron . . .?" She asked confused.

"I'm glad you still remember me." Lightning jokingly answered.

"Yeah, but . . ." Fang coughed. "What happened? I don't remember much. . . Just some kind of warrior . . . I don't know . . ." She laughed. "I'm a bit confused I think."

"Don't worry, everything's going to be fine. Just rest for a while." Lightning inwardly sighed in relief. _She can't remember Odin attacking her._

"You okay?" Fang asked, now also worried, because of Lightning's sudden distressed face.

"Yeah, you just got me good at the end." Lightning smiled.

"Obviously you got me better." Fang winked, earning a small blush from Lightning.

"Right . . ." The CEO looked away, not wanting to talk about the topic any further. "I'm sorry, though. I didn't want to get you in the infirmary."

"Don't worry, I will be out in no time." Fang reassured her.

"Okay." Lightning stood and turned around. "I will come back again after work. The least I can do is drive you home. Rest until then."

"Yes boss." Fang responded lightly.

"It's Claire . . ." Lightning whispered gently.

"Excuse me?" Did she just hear right?

"You heard me the first time, I won't repeat it. See it as my apology gift." Lightning walked out of the room before Fang could utter a single word.

"Claire. . ." She smiled happily. _What a beautiful name._

She leaned back into her bed and snuggled deeper in the soft blankets, the happy smile still on her face.

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At around four o'clock Lightning decided it was time to get Fang home. Although she still had work to do, she really couldn't concentrate on anything other than the green – eyed woman sleeping in the infirmary.

 _Did she tell the truth about not remembering anything else about the fight?_ Lightning wanted to believe her, but was afraid that she would betray her in the future. Maybe she could ask her what she remembered on their drive back home. Just normal conversation like 'Are you feeling better', 'How's your head', 'Did you see my guardian'. Lightning sighed. This was more difficult than she would have ever thought.

 _I'm probably just overreacting._

Lightning walked up to her office door, straightened her back and bravely walked her way to the infirmary.

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Meanwhile Fang had a slightly disturbing dream. She was in the training room again, together with Lightning. It was the same situation like before. She had sent Lightning flying into the wall and was now staring at the unconsciousness woman.

However, something was different like the last time. She could see the crimson light engulfing Lightning more clearly. As she got closer to the unconsciousness woman, she got shoved away by the light again, but this time she saw the figure standing next to the rose-haired woman.

A warrior clad in heavy white, green and golden armor, wielding a Zantetsuken (a double-bladed sword, forming an s-shape). The warrior briskly walked forward and swung his sword at Fang. Before it hit her though, she awakened out of her dream and startled up in bed. Groaning in the process because this fast movement was bad for her headache, that started getting worse again.

Suddenly she felt a warm hand on her shoulder and a deep, gentle voice spoke to her.

"Are you okay? What happened?"

Fang looked up and was face to face with a very concerned Lightning Farron.

 _How long has she been here?_

"Fang . . ." Lightning addressed the still daydreaming woman.

"S-sorry, what did you say?"

"I asked if everything is okay. You looked quite agitated." Lightning responded still a little bit worried.

"Yeah, everything's fine. Just that this headache is killing me, nothing more." Fang replied without looking at Lightning.

"Want to take the medication?"

"No, no . . . I . . .it's not that bad." Fang smiled reassuringly.

"Okay, if you say so. Ready to go?" Lightning changed the subject.

"Yes."

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In the car, the silence was more than deafening. No one really knew what to talk about. Lightning was too afraid to ask something that might trigger Fang's capacity for remembering. She couldn't risk getting exposed.

Fang on the other hand wasn't quite sure if she should tell Lightning about the disturbing dream she had a while ago. _Maybe she will think I'm crazy or something like this. Who wouldn't? A crimson light and a warrior appearing out of nowhere. Sounds crazy enough._

"Sigh . . ."

Lightning shortly glanced at Fang. Something was wrong, but the brunette didn't trust her enough to tell her the problem.

"You okay?" Lightning tried to start a conversation.

"Yeah . . .just tired I think." Fang responded shortly. "By the way, how are you doing? You've been hurt, too. Did the nurse check on you?"

"No, that was not necessary." Lightning said.

"I don't think that this was a wise choice. I can see that it still hurts. You look even tenser than before. You should've taken a rest, too." Fang reasoned.

"Don't try to tell me what you think is best for me." Lightning responded almost angry.

"I wouldn't dream of doing that. It was . . .just a friendly advice."

"That you could've kept for yourself."

"I know that we don't know each other that well, but . . . ."

Lightning interrupted her harshly. "There are no 'buts'. You don't know me and I don't know you. Let's leave it like this."

"If that's what you want."

"Yes."

After their little argument, the rest of the drive was kept in silence again.

 _Maybe I shouldn't have lashed out at her like that. She was just worried. Sigh . . ._ Lightning knew, that it had been wrong to almost shout at Fang, but she couldn't overcome her pride and apologize either.

Half an hour later, they arrived at Fang's house. Without a word, Lightning got out and opened the door, so Fang could easier climb out.

"Thank you."

"You are welcome." Lightning blushed, but didn't look away.

"Would you accept a cup of coffee as thank you?" Fang asked almost shyly.

"No, I. . . ."

Before it could get awkward Fang wanted to apologize but Lightning beat her to it.

"I wanted to say no, I would prefer a hot tea instead if that's okay with you." Lightning cleared the misunderstanding quickly up.

"Y-yes, of course." Fang stuttered.

"Just lead the way."

Fang walked up to the front door, Lightning trailing behind her. Before she could open the door though, it was opened by a fierce orange-head.

"Where have you been?!" Vanille nearly screamed.

"V-vanille. . ."

"Yes, you still remember your sister? Do you know how worried I've been?"

"I . . ." Fang wanted to apologize, but Vanille just shouted again.

"I don't want an excuse; I want to know what happened. I . . ." She was interrupted as Lightning cleared her throat to clear up the whole situation, but Vanille got the wrong impression and said: "So, you've got yourself a new girlfriend and forgot the time?" She asked knowingly, a smirk forming on her lips.

"No, Vanille. . ."

"It's really okay, Fang, but next time you get busy, please try to call me." She winked and faced Lightning.

"Hi, I'm Fang's sister, Vanille. Nice to meet you." She smiled at the rose-haired woman and extended her hand.

Lightning took the offered hand and responded. "Nice to meet you, too, but I'm not her girlfriend, I'm her boss."

Vanille stood mouth agape and shell-shocked at the entrance.

"Y-You are . . . oh my god." She looked at Fang for help.

"Yeah, I wanted to tell you, but you didn't let me." She sighed in defeat and faced Lightning. "I'm sorry for the misunderstanding."

Lightning couldn't stay mad at them, because they looked like beaten up puppies, so she just accepted the apology and said: "It's okay, really. So. . . how about the tea you've mentioned?"

"Yes, of course, please come in." She gestured for Lightning to enter the house and glared at Vanille who mumbled something about homework and darted into her room, almost slamming the door shut.

 _Sigh . . .luckily she didn't ask about the bandage, too. This has time to explain until tomorrow._

Lightning sat on a bar stool in the kitchen and silently observed Fang preparing tea.

"You have a very lively sister."

"Yeah . . . unfortunately so. Sorry again for the trouble, but it's really difficult to say something when she's rambling like this."

"Obviously. . ." Lightning smiled.

"Here you go. It's nothing special . . . I hope you like peppermint." Fang placed the hot cup in front of Lightning.

"Yes, thank you." She took the cup and after blowing a few times took a first sip. It tasted fresh and pleasant. Just the right thing after work. She could feel her muscles relax instantly.

Fang observed the switch between the cool businesswoman to just Lightning. She didn't know if Lightning knew, that she started to relax in front of Fang and she didn't plan on telling her.

 _She seems so at peace._ Fang thought.

Without looking up Lightning said: "You know that you are staring?"

This time it was Fang's turn to blush. She also coughed because she hadn't expected such a direct comment.

"Sorry, was not my intention." She apologized.

"Don't worry, I don't mind." She gazed at Fang and instantly blushed upon realizing what she had just said.

"Someone might have misunderstood this comment as a try to flirt." Fang smirked.

"Someone might . . ." Lightning trailed off, her gaze wandering back to her steaming cup of tea.

 _What are you doing here, Lightning?_ She questioned herself.

Deciding that now was probably a good opportunity Fang started talking about her dream.

"You know, I was wondering what really happened today. I mean, you've been unconsciousness the whole time, so you couldn't have thrown me away like that and then in the infirmary I had this remarkable dream." She stopped and looked deeply into Lightning's eyes. She could sense, that her posture had become tense again, even more so than before.

"I mean, I saw a giant warrior and this light . . .coming directly from . . .you." She almost whispered the last part.

It was just a fraction, but she could see Lightning's eyes grow a bid wider like before. It looked like she was afraid of something. No, afraid was not the right word, she looked utterly terrified.

Before Fang could utter another word Lightning jumped up from the bar stool and wanted to bolt through the door, but Fang caught her wrist just in time and stopped her. She could feel Lightning's body stiffen upon her sudden stop, but not because she was afraid, she was still in pain and that was the major reason for her reaction.

"You are hurt." Fang stated. "Dammit . . .Lightning." Fang was mainly angry because her boss didn't seem to take proper care of herself.

Lightning didn't turn around to face her. The silent treatment was enough evidence for Fang that she had been right all along.

"Please, let's talk. You need a moment to rest, too." Fang reasoned.

"No . . . I. . ." Lightning struggled to free herself, but Fang wouldn't let her. Not when she was so close at getting her answer.

"Claire. . . "

"Don't call me that!" Lightning fiercely turned around and glared daggers at Fang.

"I thought this was my apology gift." She joked to lighten up the mood.

"You said it, it was. Now, if you'll excuse me." She made her way to the door, Fang walking close behind her.

"Thank you for the tea." She mumbled quietly.

"You are welcome." Fang automatically replied.

Lightning didn't turn around again. She walked hastily through the door, leaving a confused and still slightly angry Fang behind.

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On her way back home Lightning cursed in her car over and over again. It had been a bad idea to let herself be invited by Fang, even for just a cup of tea.

 _Shit . . ._

After Fang told her about her dream, she was just so frightened that she couldn't think clearly. Now she looks all the more suspicious after running away like a lunatic.

 _What shall I do? This whole situation is a huge mess._

Lightning was at a loss. Should she ignore Fang and just work like before? Should she tell her it was just a dream and that it was because of the hard blow to her head? Could she go through with this lie?

 _Sigh . . . I have to find a solution and fast. She will definitely confront me tomorrow at work._

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"Fang. . . ?" Vanille carefully entered the hallway. Her sister still standing at the door. "Are you okay? I heard you two arguing and . . ."

"I don't know, Vanille. I'm still a little bit confused, but. . . " She turned around and faced Vanille. "I'll find out why she stormed out like I threatened to hurt her." Her face was determined.

"Okay, just don't get in trouble." She sighed, because she knew her sister's habit of getting into trouble.

"I'll try, I can't promise though." Fang smiled and ruffled Vanille's hair.

"Hey . . ." Vanille complained and turned around, seeing Fang disappear around a corner.

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This was chapter 2.

Do you still like my story? Is it worth continuing?

Please let me know and leave a review!

Thanks and have a great day.

See ya.

If you have time, please also visit my homepage:

www. dreamfall-fanfiction. jimdo. com

I had to put gaps between the words of my Homepage adress, otherwise it wouldn't have showed up correctly on . Please delete the gaps when you want to open my Homepage. Sorry for the inconvenience.


	3. Chapter 3

Hi again, finally I was able to post the new chapter. O_O I planned to update my story hours ago, but there was this damn error on Fanficiton, so it was just not possible. But now it's finally online!

So, just for your information, I will be on vacation till the end of September so the next chapter will take a little bit longer (and hopefully there won't be any errors when I want to upload it^^)

So . . . enough 'talk' for now! Enjoy the new upload!

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Chapter 3: Getting a date?

After her almost dramatic departure yesterday, Lightning decided to stay at home for one day. She could use her office at home and get the work done though, but she didn't have the strength to face Fang after their disturbing conversation.

Therefore, she had called her secretary and told her, that she should cancel all her appointments and rearrange them for the next day.

A soft knock at her office door startled her a little bit, but her mask was in place again as the door slowly opened.

"Lightning?" Her sister Serah entered her office, a worried expression on her face. "Are you alright?"

Serah wondered why her sister was still at home, not that she didn't like her to be there, but it was unusual for Lightning to work at home.

"Yes, I just didn't feel like going to work today." Lightning responded and waved her sister off.

"Okay, something is up. This really isn't you. You wouldn't have stayed at home, just because you don't feel like sitting in your office. So. . .what's going on?" Serah sat on the comfortable couch in the corner of the room, waiting for her sister to open up.

 _Sigh . . ._

Lightning turned around to face her sister properly.

"Can't hide anything from you, can I?" She half smiled.

"No, you can't. Now shoot. What is bothering you?" She smiled reassuringly.

"I told you about the new employee. . . that we fought and. . ." Lightning stopped to take a calming breath.

"Yes, you did. So it has something to do with her?"

"Yes, she. . .we fought again, because she said, that she had trouble finding the weak spot in her defense. I . . .I lost . . . again. . ." Lightning gazed directly into Serah's eyes.

"But that is not the main reason why you try to avoid her, right?"

"No, it is not." Lightning looked down at the floor and whispered: "She saw Odin."

"She . . .WHAT?" Serah screamed and jumped up from the couch. "Lightning, that . . .that. . ." She didn't know what to say and sat down again.

"She didn't really see him, he knocked her out too fast. . .I think, but she told me about a dream she had about who knocked her out and she quite precisely described Odin. I . . . She was hurt because of me and I felt responsible. I . . . shouldn't have taken the invitation . . . I was so terrified and . . .I couldn't think straight. I just . . . I ran. . . She must think that there is some truth to her dream because of my behavior. I'm so stupid. . . "

"So, let me get things right. She doesn't really know that you have special powers, she just saw a glimpse of Odin and isn't quite sure what to believe?" Serah asked.

"Yes, something along the line."

"Then just tell her that she must have hurt her head very bad. Let it sound like a joke." Serah advised.

"I think it's too late to save my ass like this. As I said, I left her quite suddenly after she told me about her dream. I . . . I don't know what to do. I needed the time to think about a solution, so I stayed home."

"This is a really difficult situation."

"I know. . .Serah . . .I know. . ." Lightning whispered defeated.

"Let's just see what she's going to talk about when you two meet again. We go from there okay?"

"Okay. . . thanks for listening Serah." Lightning looked up and smiled.

"You are very welcome, sis." She smiled and walked up to Lightning, engulfing her in a tender embrace.

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Fang entered the company a few minutes after eight, determined to walk right up to Lightning's office and demand an explanation for her odd behavior the day before.

She walked past the secretary and knocked at the huge wood door, but there was no response and after trying the door handle and finding out that it was locked, she was even more confused.

"Excuse me; do you look for Ms Farron?" The secretary asked politely.

"Yes, I've an urgent topic that I wanted to talk about and it can't wait." Fang responded impatiently.

"I'm sorry to inform you, but she won't be in the office today. She called a few minutes ago and said that she will work at home." The secretary informed Fang.

"Okay, thanks for the information." She nodded and walked away.

 _Nice try . . . Claire. . ._ Fang thought. Telling her own secretary that a very urgent appointment had come up suddenly she walked back to her car and drove to Lightning's address.

 _You can hide all you want, but I will get my answers!_ Fang sped up a little more.

Half an hour later Fang stopped the car in front of Lightning's home. She climbed out of the car and just stood there for a few seconds, letting the scenery get to her.

The house was huge, but not like a castle or something like this. It was white and only the windows had some kind of black shutters and a light brown rooftop. Above the entrance was a small also white balcony and on the left and right side of the entrance were small black lanterns. It really looked nice and sweet. (If you want to know how it looks like, you can find a link to the picture on my profile.)

 _Time to go._ Fang thought and walked up to the door, ringing the doorbell.

A few minutes later, the door slowly opened and revealed a young woman, looking like a younger version of Lightning.

"Good morning, how may I help you?" Serah asked politely, but on the other hand eyeing the woman suspiciously.

"Good morning, my name's Fang Oerba and I urgently need to speak to Lightning Farron." She also answered politely. _So this is her sister._

"Oh, so you are the one who won against my sister. Nice to meet you." She extended her hand, which Fang gladly accepted.

"Yeah. . ." She rubbed her head sheepishly. "But she got a few good hits, too." She laughed.

"I know, she told me about your fights." Serah nodded in response.

"So . . .uhm . . . is your sister here? I really need to talk to her." Fang repeated her request.

"She is here, but I don't think she would like to get disturbed while working." Serah replied. "Maybe you can wait until tomorrow. . ."

"No, I can't." Fang cut her off. "Sorry, I didn't mean to scream at you. . . I . . .please, it can't wait any longer." Fang said desperately.

Seeing the lost look in Fang's forest green eyes, Serah sighed and stepped aside. Lightning would probably rip her head off, but she couldn't say no to the woman any longer.

"She's in the basement. Just take the stairs on the left." Serah said and watched as Fang disappeared downstairs.

 _Please let everything be okay. . . sigh . . ._ Serah hoped.

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Fang reached the last step and was surprised, that the basement was this huge. There were a few doors on the left and right side, but as she walked along the corridor, she stopped at one specific door. She could here faint noises of a swords fight.

 _She's training._ Fang smiled. _And here I thought she was the ever busy business tycoon._

Fang slowly opened the door and entered the room silently. She didn't want to disturb Lightning's training.

The room looked like an arena, just built for fighting. Fang could see a few obstacles like small walls or fences and in the middle of all this was Lightning, her back facing Fang. For the first time Fang saw Lightning in other clothes than her work attire. She wore a very formfitting white t-shirt and black shorts, leaving enough room for imagination.

 _Whom is she fighting with?_ Fang wondered. She couldn't see any other person.

Then, suddenly out of nowhere, a crimson light appeared and the warrior, Fang had dreamed of, charged at Lightning, their swords colliding heavily, pushing Lightning slightly backwards.

Fang walked backwards, until her back hit the door. This alerted the warrior who stopped his movement to look directly at Fang. Lightning also turned around, her eyes getting wide after seeing Fang leaning at the door.

 _What is going on here?_ Fang thought confused. She tried to secretly search for the door handle and leave before the two other occupants could stop her, but just as she wanted to bolt out of the room, she heard Lightning's voice for the first time this day.

"Odin. . ."

The heavy armored warrior charged at Fang, but instead of attacking her, like Fang assumed, he just stopped her from opening the door.

She gulped audibly. This was definitely something she couldn't fight, even if she had a weapon right now.

"Ms Oerba . . ." Lightning gently voiced, but Fang didn't react. She concentrated on the giant warrior standing a little bit too close for comfort.

"Fang. . . " Lightning tried again. This time getting the brunette's attention. She slowly and cautiously walked up to Fang until she was only a step away. She audibly sighed as she saw Fang almost flinch away albeit their close proximity.

"Please, let me explain." She gazed at Fang's confused and frightened green eyes, waiting for a response. She got none.

"Sigh . . .okay . . ." She looked at Odin and nodded. Fang observed as the giant warrior disappeared in the same crimson light as before.

Lightning slowly kneeled down and laid her gunblade carefully on the floor, and then straightened up again and faced Fang.

"Will you please give me the chance to explain everything?" Lightning almost begged, afraid of Fang's reaction.

Seeing the pleading eyes of the otherwise tough businesswoman Fang closed the gap between them, standing now right in front of Lightning.

"Thank you." Lightning smiled a tiny smile. She knew that this had been a huge step for Fang. The other way around she would have probably ran for good.

Fang only nodded, not trusting her voice at the moment.

"I'll try to explain everything as best as I can." _Okay, here I go, no turning back now._

Lightning took a deep breath and started explaining.

"This magical power you just witnessed is a gift and a curse at times. Every century one woman gets chosen to share her life with a guardian. A magical creature that protects the bearer and her loved ones. The guardian, as we call it, possess extraordinary power and every guardian is unique, that means, that they don't look the same. For example, my guardian is a warrior or in its animal form a horse. His symbol is a rose. The one before I only know the animal form. It was a giant dragon." Lightning stopped her story to look at Fang. Her facial expression was neutral, but Lightning could still see the anxiety beneath.

"I didn't ask for this power, but I've lived with it since birth. I try to hide it from other people because . . .yeah . . .I think you can follow. It's just not normal." She sighed.

"You were right. . ." Lightning whispered. "Odin, my guardian, attacked you as I was unconsciousness, thinking that you wanted to harm me. I'm so sorry for what happened and I can absolutely understand that you can't forgive me . . .even though, I'm truly sorry." Lightning bowed her head in deep apology.

Fang understood every word, that Lightning had said, but still, was this really real? It sounded so . . .crazy. Had she not seen it with her own eyes she wouldn't have believed it.

"Please, say something." She heard Lightning's begging voice.

"This IS real, isn't it?" Fang's rough voice questioned.

"Yes, it is . . ."

"I don't know what to say." She gazed at Lightning, a lost look in her eyes.

"I know. . ."

"Would . . . would you show me?" Fang suddenly asked.

"W-what?" Lightning didn't know if she was dreaming or not. Did she hear that right? "Y-you want me to. . ."

"Y-yes . . ." _Was that a blush on Fang's face?_ Lightning didn't know why, but she felt happy and relieved all of a sudden.

Lightning concentrated and whispered: "Odin."

A crimson rose was forming in front of Lightning. Then a crimson colored circle formed on the ground below her. The light getting brighter and brighter until the warrior, Odin, came out of the light, suddenly standing next to Lightning.

 _Wow . . ._ That was all Fang could think of right now.

Lightning opened her eyes slowly and looked at Fang. She couldn't see the fright any longer. What she saw in her eyes was pure astonishment, nothing more.

The rose-haired woman couldn't bear the happiness any longer, she fell to her knees, crying. Odin disappeared along the way.

"Claire . . ." Fang shouted and without hesitation kneeled right next to the crying woman.

She took the woman into her arms, embracing her tightly.

"Are you hurt?" Fang asked worriedly.

Lightning shook her head and unconsciously snuggled deeper into Fang's warmth.

Fang on the other hand embraced her only tighter, letting her head rest above Lightning's soft rose colored hair, closing her eyes in the process.

 _She feels so warm._ Lightning thought.

A short cough brought them back into reality and they hastily separated, both blushing heavily.

"I thought maybe I should check up on you two, but that was obviously not necessary." Serah smiled. "I prepared something to eat, if you want."

Lightning averted her gaze and said, still heavily blushing: " Y-you want to . . .uhm . . . eat something?" She felt like a little school girl over again.

"I'd like that." Fang answered honestly.

They stood up and walked together to the living room, a smiling Serah already waiting for them.

"I just prepared a salad and some snacks."

"Thanks Serah." Lightning said and sat down, shortly followed by Fang.

"Yeah, thanks, too."

"You are both very welcome." She responded smiling.

The diner was short and their conversation was almost non-existent. They talked about a few topics regarding work, but otherwise they all stayed deep in thought and remained silent.

"So, I will take care of the dishes and you both go and talk or whatever." Serah declared.

"But Serah, we can . . ." Her sister interrupted Lightning.

"Definitely not, now go." She shooed them away and cleared the table.

Lightning gestured for Fang to sit down on the comfortable black couch and then sat down herself. _What should I do now? This is really difficult. We can't start a normal conversation._ Lightning thought.

"Sigh . . ."

She looked up, only to see Fang staring back at her, but averting her gaze as she saw Lightning looking her way.

"You know, I said it once, that I don't mind you staring at me." She smiled upon seeing the small blush forming on Fang's cheeks.

"Yeah . . . you told me." She replied and faced her boss again. She also smiled slightly.

"What are we going to do?" Lightning asked in the sudden silence.

"I don't know. What do you want us to do?" Fang answered confused.

"Let me rephrase my question. Why are you so calm after all that has happened today? Why are you not running around screaming monster or something like this?"

"You want me to?"

"Excuse me?" Now Lightning was confused as well.

"You want me to give you names and run for my life?"

"NO! I mean . . . I . . ."

"Calm down, Claire." Fang smiled upon receiving the glare directed at her. She ignored it, of course. "It was a joke. I . . .I trust you . . .I know, that we don't know each other that well, but I trust you not to harm me in any way. So I won't tell anyone your secret or call you a monster." She smiled reassuringly.

"Just like that?" Lightning was baffled.

"Just like that." Fang confirmed.

"Thank you . . . Fang." Upon hearing her name being said so gently, the smile on Fang's face grew almost instantly wider.

"You know, I would have never thought to work for such an interesting CEO. Hopefully I'll work at your company a very long time." She gazed deeply into Lightning's eyes.

"We will see." Lightning responded in her deep soft voice and winked at Fang who once again blushed a deep shade of red.

Lightning laughed loudly.

"You know, I think I like this little game reverse and getting you to blush in the process."

"I'm not surprised to hear that. You know . . . you look even more stunning when you blush." Fang winked at the rose haired woman.

This got Lightning to blush in return and Fang to laugh.

"See?" Fang smiled gently.

"Mmh . . . " Lightning only responded, thinking about the future and their work together.

"What's up?" Fang asked, feeling the sudden mood change.

"I . . .I was just thinking how we go from here. I mean . . .you know my biggest secret and I'm at your mercy right now to put it simply." Fang nodded understandingly. "And I know too less about you to really trust you. It's hard to admit, but I'm afraid. . . ." Lightning directly gazed at Fang, feeling all the more exposed. "Afraid, that you might betray us and . . .this is so frustrating." Lightning shook her head.

Fang gently placed her hand on Lightning's shoulder. "Lightning. . ." She got no reaction. Therefore, she tried again in a softer almost inaudible voice. "Claire. . ."

Lightning's head shot up. "I told . . ." Fang held up her hand.

"Yeah, I know, to never call you that again, but listen, you trusted me enough to tell me your real name. Okay, your guardian is an even bigger secret, I guess, but I won't tell anyone. You can trust me, please believe me." Fang's eyes only showed honesty.

"As crazy as it sounds, I believe you." Lightning replied and smiled.

"Thank you." Fang gently responded. "Now, may I suggest a solution to our little 'problem'? I mean the thing about not knowing each other."

"What do you have in mind?" Lightning asked suspiciously.

"Easy, let's go on a date." Fang sheepishly scratched her cheek.

"You mean . . . you and I . . . we both. . .uhm . . ." Lightning was at a loss of words.

"Yes, I'd like to get to know you better." She admitted, a huge blush forming on her cheeks.

"I uhm . . ."

"Of course, she will go." An enthusiastic Serah shouted and suddenly showed up in front of them.

"Excuse me?" Lightning was confused.

"Lightning, your last date has been centuries ago, it's time for a new one." She replied happily.

"Serah, it's not your place to set up a date for me."

"I know, but you took too long to answer, so I agreed for you. I know you want to." She winked.

Lightning instantly heated up like a Christmas tree.

"SERAH!" She shouted embarrassed.

"What? Don't lie to me." She demanded to know.

One look at Fang let her forget what she wanted to say to her sister and instead she said: "Yes."

"See, I knew it." Serah giddily left the living room and let the blushing woman alone again.

"What was that?" Fang asked confused.

"That . . ." Lightning pointed in the direction her sister disappeared. "Was my sister setting up a date for me." She smiled warmly.

"You really okay with that? I mean, if. . .it was really sudden and . . ."

"Don't worry, I wouldn't have agreed otherwise, even with my sister bothering me."

"Okay, then it's a date?" Fang wanted to ask one finally time to be sure.

"Yes, it's a date. . .Fang." _I really like her calling me by my name._

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Phew . . . nice chapter, don't you think? And I really liked the end where Serah set up a date for Lightning. Really funny ^^

Now I've got some bad news for you. As I mentioned above, I will go on vacation, so the next chapter will take some time. . . sorry . . .

See ya!


	4. Chapter 4

I did it! I can't believe it ^^

I wrote the next chapter. *dance around the laptop*

This chapter will have a small kissing scene between Light and Fang! (I just love these two)

Have fun reading!

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Chapter 4: Kiss, Slap and Happy End?

Fang had left the Farron household after dinner and arranged their date for Friday. She felt so happy and had a huge smile on her face so that her sister got suspicious and asked what was going on. After telling her about the date with her boss, they had almost talked the whole night and discussed where to go and what to wear to her first date with Lightning.

She couldn't really sleep that night either.

So, now here she sat, still in her car and wanted to drive home and get some needed sleep, but she knew that she couldn't. She would have to meet up with Lightning because they didn't have the time to talk about work yesterday, like Lightning had said on the first day. They had more important things to discuss.

 _Time to go._ She sighed, climbed out of her car and dragged her tired body to the main entrance.

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Today Lightning had been even earlier than normal, because she was so nervous and couldn't stay at home any longer.

Her sister had laughed at her and said, that she obviously couldn't stand a minute without her beautiful soon to be girlfriend.

Lightning had blushed a deep shade of red and told her sister that it was just a date, nothing more.

Serah had just nodded and walked away, still smiling.

 _Sigh . . . am I really that. . . I don't know how to put it. Yes, I am happy to see her again, but Serah is just exaggerating things._ Lightning reassured herself.

A knock at her door let her get out of her dream-like state. _Fang._

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Fang stood in front of Lightning's door and bravely knocked, waiting for the rose-haired woman to answer.

After receiving a neutral 'Please come in', she slowly opened the door and closed it behind her back. Leaving only her and Lightning in the huge office.

She gulped. Suddenly she was becoming very nervous. _Keep yourself together. You can do it._

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Lightning on the other hand couldn't control her appraising stares as Fang entered her office. She looked very casual, but sexy nonetheless in her dark blue jeans, that fit perfectly and the black blouse with a dark blue rose on the right side.

 _Beautiful . . ._ Was Lightning's first thought.

Fang noticed Lightning's stare and responded with a small blush of her own _. She's already letting her guard down._

She was sure, that Lightning wouldn't have looked at her with such open admiration if they still were only superior and normal employee.

"You know, staring is not very polite." Fang jokingly said and observed Lightning's reaction very closely.

"I . . .I'm sorry . . . I. . ." Lightning was at a loss of words. She felt embarrassed for getting caught . . .again and therefore blushed an even deeper shade of red comparing to Fang.

"No need to apologize. I really like the way you look at me. I would be lying if I said that I didn't check you out, too." Fang admitted.

"You did?"

"Yes, you are a very attractive woman." She winked at Lightning.

"Thank you." She averted her gaze, still blushing madly.

"Before we start with our official meeting, would it be okay if I asked you to eat lunch with me?"

"I can't. . . I. . .have work to do and. . ."

"Light. . ." Fang softly said. "It's not a marriage proposal, just lunch. Please, I would be honored to spend more time with you." She said honestly.

"Do you always have to say things like this?" Lightning' blush didn't die down.

"Yes, just to see this beautiful blush of yours." Fang responded and walked around the desk, so that she was right in front of Lightning, who turned around to properly face Fang.

"Light, I really like you and I want to get to know you, the real you." Fang smiled tenderly. "Please, give me a chance to do just that."

Fang leaned down, so that her hands stayed on the armrests of Lightning's chair, trapping her there.

Lightning could feel her heartbeat accelerate. She didn't know if it was because of the softly spoken words or the closeness, but she would probably have a heart attack in the near future.

"Claire. . ." Fang whispered and slowly closed the gap between them. She saw Lightning's eyes widen a fraction as she started to notice Fang's intention.

Maybe it was too early, but right now Fang felt the desperate need to kiss this gorgeous woman in front of her.

Not seeing any rejection, she moved further. Seeing Lightning close her beautiful teal colored eyes, she did the same and just as they were only inches apart, they suddenly heard a loud knock at the door.

Startled, they opened their eyes and Fang stumbled backwards a few meters, but getting her balance back before she fell to the floor.

Lightning also recovered quickly from her shock and faced the door with a neutral expression.

"We will talk later." She said to Fang and dismissed her just like that, without giving her a second glance.

Fang only nodded and decided it would be wiser to leave her alone.

As she opened the door, Lightning's secretary greeted her friendly and entered the office.

 _Sigh. . . this secretary sure knows how to kill the mood._

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Back in her office Fang replayed the event until their almost kiss over and over again. She was sure, that Lightning would have let Fang kiss her. There were no signs that she didn't want to _. I really like to know what would have happened if the secretary hadn't interrupted their moment._ Fang mused.

She felt really frustrated right now. What was going on? When was the last time that a woman had occupied her thoughts all day? Unconsciously she thought about her boss and mostly about the recent events. She could still smell her lovely peppermint – like scent and see her eyes getting a spoor darker.

I can't wait to see her again, outside of work and more privately. Fang smiled.

She decided that she would give Lightning the time to come to her in her own time. Like on her first day she checked the current projects and looked over some analysis to use the remaining hours until lunch break useful.

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Meanwhile Lightning was alone in her office again. Her secretary had left a few minutes ago. She just wanted to make sure, that Lightning had all the necessary documents for her meeting next week with Caius Ballad.

How she hated this man. He always used this high and mighty tone of voice when speaking to her and he had the great idea, only in his mind, to merge the two companies. Of course, he would be the main person pulling the strings at the end. Once he even tried to do more than just flirting and almost touched Lightning very inappropriately. He just survived because, like today, her secretary had knocked at her door, wanting something very unimportant, but Lightning had been very thankful for her appearance.

After that last meeting, she only talked to him over the phone and always found an excuse to not meet in person, but this subject was just too important, so that she had to meet up with him next week.

 _Sigh . . . maybe I should ask Fang to accompany me to this meeting. I don't want to go alone._ Lightning thought. _Fang, what are you doing right now? Maybe you also think about our meeting today?_

She was surprised that she already thought about Fang again. She left only minutes ago in Lightning's imagination. Lightning shook her head over herself and decided to get a little bit of work done. After all, she would meet Fang in a few hours for lunch. But, did she really want to sit in a crowded cafeteria with all her other employees? No, Lightning wanted to be alone and enjoy her time with Fang.

Before she really noticed what she was doing, she already dialed Fang's telephone number.

"Hi boss. Miss me already." Fang joked.

"Yes. . ." Lightning softly replied without thinking.

"I . . .Claire. . . " Fang didn't know what to respond.

"I'm sorry, that was . . . I didn't. . ." Lightning sighed. "I'm sorry."

"Don't be. I mean, I thought about you, too." You could hear the smile in Fang's answer.

"Fang. . ."

"Yes, sunshine?" Fang used the nickname she had thought about.

"Sunshine?" Lightning raised an eyebrow.

"You don't like it? I thought it would fit perfectly." She laughed lightly.

"Yeah, of course you would." Lightning also smiled.

"So, can I call you 'sunshine'?"

"No, definitely not."

"Okay, . . . Claire." Fang whispered hoarsely. Lightning felt a pleasant chill run through her body.

"Don't do that?" Lightning whispered.

"Do what? Say your name?" Fang knew exactly what Lightning meant, but wanted to hear it from her directly.

"Don't . . .say my name like that. It . . ." _God, this is embarrassing._ Lightning thought.

"Don't worry, I won't use it that often." Fang smiled. "Promise."

Lightning ignored the suspicious undertone and asked Fang what she wanted to ask from the start.

"Do you want to stay in my office for lunch? I don't feel like going to the cafeteria."

"Yes, I'd like that very much." Fang beamed. "Maybe we can continue where left of as your secretary knocked at your office door."

Ignoring Fang's comment, she just replied: "See you later, Fang." Then she hanged up.

Smiling Fang replied, knowing that Lightning had already ended the call. "Yes, see you . . .sunshine."

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Fang arrived at Lightning's office door right in time. She had thought about buying lunch, but she didn't know what Lightning preferred, so she decided just to go to her office and maybe buy something for their next lunch together.

She politely knocked and entered the office without waiting for a response.

The desk in front of the door was empty. _Where is she?_ Fang was confused. _Didn't she say that they meet at her office?_

Suddenly the door opened again, almost hitting Fang's back. Right in time, she jumped forward to evade the heavy wooden door. She was faced with an equally surprised Lightning.

"Oh, sorry. . ." Lightning apologized. "I just grabbed a cup of tea."

"No problem, I was a little bit early." Fang answered.

Lightning closed the door and walked up to the comfortable couch on the right side. Fang followed suit, but didn't sit down.

"You know, you can sit down. I won't bite." Lightning laughed.

"Yeah, right. . . I know." Fang smiled sheepishly and sat down on the couch next to Lightning, but not too close.

"I wanted to grab something to eat, but I didn't know what you liked so. . . " Fang stopped her rambling and looked at the smiling Lightning.

"You sure are cute when you start rambling like a little school girl." She laughed upon seeing the pout on Fang's face.

"I'm happy that you can still make fun of me." Fang answered a little bit frustrated. She was nervous because she didn't know how to handle the situation after their almost kiss and she didn't need Lightning to add to her nervousness.

"I think this wasn't such a good idea." Fang sighed. "I should probably go back to work." She wanted to stand up, but Lightning stopped her by holding her wrist in a gentle grip.

"Don't go. . . I'm sorry. I don't deal well with nervousness either. Forgive me. . . please?" Lightning blushed but didn't avert her gaze, a sincere smile gracing her face.

Fang sat down again, this time much closer to Lightning, their legs almost touching.

"Fine."

"Thank you."

Fang only nodded in response.

"Fang. . . to be honest, I said I wanted to have lunch in my office because I wanted to ask a favor." Lightning started and waited for Fang's response.

The brunette just looked at her and waited, so she continued: "I have this very important meeting coming up next Wednesday about merging my company with our competitor and I want I want to tell him, that there won't be such a deal. I . . .Let's just say he doesn't deal with rejection very well and I want you as support to go with me."

"I will go with you." Fang answered immediately. "But, there is a price I want to have in return."

Lightning's happiness turned down a notch, but she nodded and waited for Fang to name her price.

"I want you to pay for our whole dinner." She smiled triumphantly at the stunned rose-haired woman.

"You little. . . ." Lightning also smiled, she couldn't stay mad. "It's a deal." She held out her hand, but Fang ignored the hand and just leaned in to give Lightning a small peck on the cheek. Lightning blushed madly in return.

Fang didn't lean back immediately, instead she whispered hoarsely; "It's a deal."

"Yeah. . ." Lightning gently whispered, staring deeply into Fang's green eyes.

Their special moment was cut short as Lightning's mobile phone started ringing. They separated like teenager being caught doing naughty things by their parents, both blushing heavily.

Lightning looked at the screen and apologized to Fang. She had to take this call, unfortunately.

"Farron." Lightning listened to the person on the other end of the line and Fang was amazed how fast she could be the businesslike woman again.

She didn't want to eavesdrop, but she also didn't want to leave either, so she waited for Lightning to finish the phone call.

One name caught her attention though and without intention, she listened more closely.

"Mr. Ballad, I've told you that we will meet next Wednesday. I don't have time to discuss the topic this week. No, definitely not, Friday evening is not an option." She gazed at Fang as she politely declined the offer for a meeting within this week.

"I know that this is an important topic, but I can't and I won't postpone my appointment on Friday. Have a nice day." Without waiting for a response she ended the call and sat down next to Fang again.

"I'm sorry. . . He can be quite insistent when he wants things to go his way."

"Don't worry, everything's fine, but I have one question."

"Please, go ahead."

"Did you say 'Ballad'?"

"Yes, why do you ask?"

"He was my former boss, remember the incident where he got a little bit too touchy? I smashed him into his desk. So. . . it might not be such a good idea to take me with you." Fang replied sheepishly.

 _Yes, of course. . . How could I've forgotten this little detail? She said that at our first meeting. Sigh. . . what should I do?_ Lightning thought.

"I . . ." Lightning stopped. _What are you thinking? It doesn't matter what Ballad thinks about her. You wanted her to come with you. Now stay to your word._

"I want you to come with me. . . please." Lightning's voice was soft and gentle.

"I will." Fang smiled tenderly.

"And. . . don't worry about his reaction. You belong to me. . . I mean. . .I . . ." Lightning's blush returned full force upon realizing what she had just said.

"You don't have to correct the sentence if you ask me." Fang smiled lovingly and gently pushed a stray strand of Lightning's rose-colored hair behind her ear. Afterwards her hand stayed on Lightning's cheek, her thumb slowly caressing her cheek in the process.

Lightning gulped, but couldn't look away. She opened her mouth to say something, but no words came out.

Fang on the other hand gazed at Lightning's slightly parted lips that looked so inviting to her. She wanted to know what they tasted like. Maybe like peppermint tea? The urge to resist temptation was just too big, so she slowly leaned in. Lightning had enough time to stop Fang if she wanted to do so.

Only millimeter apart the door suddenly opened and her sister burst through the wooden door.

Serah blushed a deep shade of red, just like her sister, upon realizing that she walked in on a really heated moment between Lightning and Fang.

"Oh god. . . I'm soooo sorry." She replied, averting her gaze.

"Serah? What are you doing here?" Lightning questioned with a warning undertone.

"I wanted to ask if you . . .uhm. . .lunch, yeah, I wanted to eat lunch with you, but I see you already ate someone for lunch. . .I mean. . . oh please, someone kill me. This is so embarrassing." Serah complained.

Lightning was also too embarrassed to say something.

Fang on the other hand found the whole situation very funny and silently observed the two sisters.

After a few minutes of deafening silence, Fang decided to intervene and clear up the obviously embarrassing situation.

"Okay, listen you two." Lightning and Serah looked at Fang. "I know that you think that this situation is quite embarrassing, but there you are wrong. Serah, I really have strong feelings towards your sister. I know that we do not know each other that well, but I want to change that. Therefore, you will probably see situations like this very often in the future. Personally I would really like that." She gazed deeply into Lightning's eyes who blushed in return.

"Fang . . ." Lightning's voice was full of emotions.

Feeling a huge wave of bravery, Fang held Lightning's gaze and did what she wanted to do on the first day at the new company.

She gently placed her left hand on Lightning's right cheek and traced the luscious lips with her thumb. The soft lips opened lightly, welcoming Fang's gentle touch. Then she slowly leaned in and captured those soft lips with her own. The last thing she saw were Lightning's teal colored eyes closing.

It felt like heaven to have Lightning' lips pressed against her own. She didn't dare to go further by using her tongue though. Besides Serah was still watching them, but she slightly increased the pressure and she felt Lightning responding immediately by letting out a soft moan.

Obviously surprised by her own reaction Lightning ended the kiss abruptly.

She slowly opened her eyes and gazed at Fang's questioning eyes. At first, she couldn't focus her vision, still too dazed to do so. Seconds later, she still gazed at Fang and realized what she had done, also in front of her younger sister.

 _Oh god . . . I . . . I moaned. . ._ Lightning was beyond embarrassed.

She hurriedly got up and ran out of her office, ignoring the worried stares she got from Fang and her sister.

Fang was irritated. What had happened just now? She was kissing Lightning and suddenly said woman ran out of her office as if the devil was chasing her.

"Do you have any idea why she ran out like this?" Fang asked Serah.

"She's not very good with such things, you know, kissing someone or be close to someone and this kiss just caught her by surprise and . . . I think she just realized how much she enjoyed kissing you. Guessing by the sound of it . . . and she got really embarrassed that she let her guard down to do so, especially with her little sister around."

"You think she likes me, too?" Inside Fang was the happiest woman alive, but she wanted to get a confirmation beforehand to show it to the outside world.

"Yes, very much I'd say." Serah smiled.

"Then I should probably search for her."

"Try the rooftop. She's sometimes up there, thinking."

"Thank you, Serah."

"You are welcome." Fang just wanted to leave as she heard Serah say: "Please don't hurt her." She nodded in return and left. Not knowing what Serah's last comment meant.

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Finally chapter 4 is ready.

I'm really sorry that it took so long to upload this chapter. Maybe the next one will be out sooner ^^

Please leave a review!

Have a nice and sunny day!


	5. Chapter 5

Hi there

It's me ^^ No, I'm not dead and the story still lives . . . more or less.

I really try to update more often (promise)!

Enjoy the new chapter!

Kiss, Slap and Happy End? – Part 2

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Fang just needed five minutes to follow Lightning to the rooftop. She opened the steel door and was welcomed by a warm wind passing by. In front of her at the end of the roof top was Lightning, her back was facing Fang.

Slowly she approached her boss and walked up next to her.

"Nice view."

Lightning didn't respond or acknowledged her presence otherwise.

"You want to talk about what has happened in your office?" Fang tried again.

Next to her Lightning sighed and gazed at Fang out of the corner of her eye.

"I . . . I really don't know what to say and . . . I don't want a repeat of this." Lightning whispered.

Fang whirled around and grabbed Lightning's shoulder to turn her around. Now they stood face to face.

"What did you just say?"

"I said, I don't want a repeat of the situation a few minutes ago." Lightning responded with determination shining in her eyes.

"You can't be serious." Fang let her hand fall down and watched the woman in front of her.

"Believe me, I am serious."

"But. . . I don't understand. . . I thought. . . You liked it, too. I didn't imagine you kissing back, did I?" Fang needed to know the truth.

Not wanting to lie Lightning answered truthfully.

"No, you are right. I really liked kissing you, but. . . " Fang interrupted her.

"Lightning, there are no buts. I can't believe you at times." She shook her head.

The rose-haired woman didn't respond, instead she turned around, determined to leave Fang alone.

"You won't be needed for the appointment with Mr. Ballad." The rose-haired woman quickly changed the topic.

"No, you don't. . ." Fang grabbed Lightning's wrist and stopped her from leaving. Then she pulled and Lightning landed directly in Fang's arms.

She didn't have time to protest because a set of soft warm lips pressed against her own. Almost losing the battle against Fang's velvety soft lips, she shoved the brunette away and slapped her . . . hard.

The slap mark turned slightly red and Lightning almost regretted being so harsh to Fang.

"Don't do that ever again without my consent!" Lightning said angrily. She then turned around and left the speechless Fang alone on the rooftop.

 _Didn't go as planned. . . sigh. . ._ Fang thought, rubbing her bruised cheek.

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The whole day was over in a blur. Lightning didn't remember much because she constantly thought about a certain brunette and the hurt look after she had left her on the rooftop.

 _Sigh . . . what should I do?_ Lightning placed her index finger on her lips, still feeling Fang's soft touch. She knew that Fang felt something for her and if she was honest she also felt a huge attraction towards the green eyed woman and it was more than lusting for her body. However, would everything work out if Lightning let her feelings guide the way?

Sure, Fang knew her family secret and was obviously okay with it, but would it stay like this in the future or would she betray Lightning for the right opportunity? All these thoughts almost drove her mad. So she decided to drive home around three o'clock. This earned her a very confused look from her secretary, but she ignored her and just said something about a private appointment that suddenly had come up.

The drive home was uneventful and as she entered her home, Serah instantly greeted her cheerfully.

"Hi sis, you are back early." Serah looked closely at her sister. "You didn't make up with Fang right?" Her cheerfulness was slightly turned down.

"No, I didn't." Lightning mumbled.

"Claire . . ." Lightning glared at her. "Why do you have to make things so complicated? She likes you and you obviously like her too. So call her and apologize properly." Serah demanded.

"I can't and I don't want to. Serah . . .sigh . . .don't you see that there is no future for us? I am different and I'm sure that. . ." Serah interrupted her abruptly.

"Not this old topic again. Lightning, you can't stop living, just because someone might betray you. I know she won't. She is a very honest woman. Give her a chance to proof it. Please . . ."

"No, please, let it be. . . It's over and it's for the best." Lightning went upstairs to shower and maybe relax a little bit. She didn't want company right now.

"Claire. . ." Serah whispered, her heart hurt because of the sad look her sister had given her.

She had to do something. She couldn't just stand by and see her sister ruin her life for good. As she heard the shower running Serah went also upstairs and started Lightning's computer. She searched the databank and found what she was searching for. Fang's phone number.

Writing the number down, she left the room and went downstairs again to call Fang. Hopefully she was also at home right now.

Serah dialed the number. Beep . . .beep . . .beep . . . _Please. . . be there._

Seconds later a familiar voice answered the phone.

"Hello? Fang?"

"Yes, who's there?" Fang answered confused.

"It's me, Serah. . . uhm . . .Lightning's sister." She clarified.

"Ah yes, I remember. What can I do for you?"

"To tell you the truth I want to do something for you."

"What do you mean?"

"I want to help you make up with Lightning."

"Why?" Fang's voice suddenly sounded really sad.

"Because I know she can be quite stubborn, but deep inside she's just afraid to let someone in. She likes you, trust me."

"What makes you so sure? The fingerprints on my cheek tell another story." Fang rubbed her sore cheek.

"She slapped you?"

"Yes, remember, you told me to follow her to the rooftop."

"Yeah . . . and?"

"Uhm . . . I tried to kiss her again." Fang mumbled.

"Obviously not a very good idea."

"Thanks Sherlock."

"Now I know that it was a good idea to call you. You two are really unbelievable." Serah sighed.

"Yeah . . . tell me something I didn't already know."

"Maybe how to get her to talk to you again?" Serah suggested.

"Something like this . . . yes."

"Okay, listen. I don't have much time left, but I've got a good plan for your dinner date."

"Sorry, but your plan is not so perfect. We don't have a date anymore." Fang interrupted.

"Officially yes, but you will be here on Friday nonetheless. All dressed up and in a bright mood. Understood?"

"Yes, sir . . .uhm . . .ma'm."

"Good." Serah smiled happily.

They talked a few minutes longer and Serah explained her brilliant plan in detail.

 _Lightning, a thank you doesn't suffice for what I'm doing right now to help get you a love life._

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The rest of the week was very uneventful. Lightning attended a lot of meetings and therefore didn't have time to talk to Fang. Luckily for her almost all the meetings took place outside of her company. She didn't want to get confronted by Fang. She wanted to leave things like they were right now. Lightning admitted, only to herself that she felt lonelier without Fang to talk to. They had known each other only a few days, but she already missed the brunette dearly.

 _Sigh . . . Lightning, you wanted it that way, so stay strong._

Lightning was one of the only employees left at six o'clock in the afternoon. It was Friday and she didn't have anything to do, so she decided to get some work done before leaving for the weekend. And she didn't want to sit at home and think about her dinner date with Fang.

 _I wonder what she will do today? Gah . . .stop this nonsense. You will stay at home and. . .yeah . . . and what? Sigh . . ._

Lightning left the building half an hour later. She called Serah on her way back and they decided to go to the cinema. Maybe this would distract her enough.

After she arrived home, she went straight upstairs and changed in some comfortable clothes, nothing fancy, because it was just her sister and a dark room for two hours.

She almost smiled as she walked down the stairs again, until she heard a very familiar voice.

 _Fang? What is she doing here?_

"Hi Fang, please come in." She heard her sister say.

"Hi Serah."

Lightning was paralyzed. What should she do? She didn't want to deal with Fang. Not now, not ever again.

She just wanted to turn around and walk up the stairs as her sister's voice stopped her.

"Claire . . ." There was slight warning in her voice. She dared her older sister to move just one more step into the wrong direction.

Lightning winced slightly, but turned around, facing a smiling Serah and a gorgeous looking Fang.

She wasn't sure if she drooled or not, but Fang looked really beautiful and sexy. She didn't wear a fancy dress, just black trousers and a crystal blue blouse. Everything very form fitting and the blouse was slightly open at the right place, so that you got a little bit of a view of Fang's cleavage. Lightning gulped audibly.

"Hi sunshine." Fang's voice was deep and slightly husky. The only sign of her nervousness.

"Hi . . . Fang."

They just stared at each other in complete silence until Serah took the opportunity to break the silence and tell them, that their dinner date would take place right now.

"Lightning?" Her sister faced her upon hearing her name being called. "I called Fang, so that you two can sort things out and behave like adults. The table is set, so all you have to do is sit down and talk to each other."

Lightning slightly shook her head, but Serah took a step in her direction and pulled her down the stairs, slightly shoving her in the right direction.

"Sorry, Lightning, but you don't have a choice."

"Serah . . .why?" Lightning didn't know what to say or do. She glanced at Fang who followed them into the living room. The whole time she tried to avoid direct eye contact with Lightning.

As they reached the living room, Serah stopped and faced her sister.

"Claire. . . please. . . I don't want to see you suffer. . .please, talk to her."

"I . . ." Lightning gazed at Fang who looked so vulnerable at this moment that she just couldn't say no.

"Okay, I will talk to Fang."

"Thank you." Serah smiled. "Then I will go now and see you tomorrow. Don't worry, I will stay at a friend's house and I don't want to hear bad news tomorrow. Understood? You better make up or else. . ." Serah threatened.

She kissed her sister on the cheek and left the living room. As they heard the door close, Lightning wanted nothing more than to run after her sister. Suddenly she felt so nervous like a schoolgirl on her first day.

Fang observed Lightning a few seconds and wasn't so sure any longer that Serah's plan was such a good idea. Lightning was really rigid and she could almost feel her nervousness.

"Light?" Fang cautiously asked.

She heard Lightning sigh before she turned around again to face her guest.

"It was Serah's idea right?"

"Yes. . ." Fang bowed her head. She didn't know what to say.

"Sigh . . . she really likes to interfere with my life. . ."

"I think she wants you to be happy and . . ." She stopped midsentence after receiving a warning glare from Lightning. "Sorry. . . "

"I. . . no, I'm sorry. You are probably right. I just. . . I don't like her planning things and getting others involved and . . ."

"It's okay, I know what you mean. . .I . . . I will go. . . We just tell her that we talked and everything is normal again. . .Sorry. . . I didn't I . . .sigh . . ." Fang was at a loss. She slightly bowed and turned around, ready to leave. "Goodbye . . . Lightning." _It was a stupid idea. . ._ Fang thought.

"Fang . . . wait. . ." Lightning grabbed her wrist to stop her. "Don't go. I. . .uhm . . .You came all the way to talk, so. . . let's . . .talk. . ."

Fang turned around and asked: "Are you sure?" She gazed deeply at Lightning's teal colored eyes, trying to find the truth.

"I would be lying if I said yes, but. . . I don't want you to leave like this." Lightning honestly answered.

"Okay. . ." Fang slightly smiled.

They stayed like this for a few seconds until Lightning became aware that she still held Fang in place. She released her hand and motioned for Fang to sit down at the dining table.

"Maybe we should eat something first. Serah prepared it just for us." Lightning also half smiled.

"I'd like that."

They sat down at the dining table and ate in silence the delicious meal Serah had prepared. She had also made dessert. It was perfect. However, Lightning's nervousness grew with each passing second. She knew that she had to talk to Fang sometime soon.

After their meal, they cleaned the table and put the dishes in the dish washing machine. Nothing else to do anymore Lightning asked Fang if she wanted to drink some wine. Then they settled down comfortably on the couch, both a glass of red wine in their hands.

"So . . . you probably want to talk about what happened in the office and . . . the rooftop." Lightning averted her gaze, clearly remembering the scene where she slapped Fang hard.

"Yeah . . . I wanted to apologize. . ." Fang said and Lightning looked questionably at her. "I. . .shouldn't have kissed you in the first place. I mean, don't get me wrong, I wanted to kiss you, but maybe I should have chosen a more romantic scenery and not in front of your sister. . .Therefore I'm sorry, not because of the kiss itself." Fang clarified.

"I also need to apologize. Maybe the slap was a little bit too harsh, but the second kiss got me by surprise and I don't deal well with certain kind of surprises." Lightning blushed and averted her gaze.

Fang laughed heartily. "Maybe and a little bit too harsh? You are kidding right?"

"No, I'm not." Lightning slightly pouted.

"Light, your reaction was like a nuclear bomb exploding. Totally unexpected and uncalled for, really. I know it was somewhat rude to force you to kiss me the second time, but the slap was out of line, don't you think? I understand that you got a little bit embarrassed after the moan incident in your office, but. . ." Lightning stopped her rambling.

"Do you know how embarrassing that was? Moaning in front of my younger sister in my office? I don't have words for that. I can't even describe how humiliated I've felt." Lightning exaggerated her explanation.

Fang rubbed her cheek and responded. "Oh, I think I've got quite a good impression."

"Fang. . ." Lightning lifted her hand, but stopped midway. _What are you doing?_ _Touching Fang won't solve anything and you wanted to stop these feelings._ Lightning thought and let her hand sink again, but she was stopped as Fang gently gripped her hand and placed it against her soft and warm cheek, knowing what Lightning's intention had been.

"You know, I don't mind you touching me. I . . . I enjoy your touch." Fang confessed, blushing deeply.

Lightning slowly drew circles with her thumb on Fang's cheek, enjoying the feel of the soft skin beneath, too.

"Fang. . ." Lightning eyes got a shade darker as she glanced at Fang. The brunette in return placed her index finger on the rose haired woman's lips and whispered: "Let me kiss you . . . please . . . Claire. . ."

Lightning slowly nodded and waited for Fang's face to get closer and closer until only millimeters separated them. She slowly closed her eyes and soon felt the equally soft lips of Fang meet her own. The kiss was soft and oh so gentle. Both didn't feel the need to intensify the contact. Just feeling each other was enough, for now.

Fang gently placed her right hand on Lightning's neck to prevent her from stopping the kiss too soon, but Lightning found the kiss far too enjoyable to stop anytime soon. She felt the hand slowly caress her neck and she couldn't suppress the tiny moan any longer. Her body started to tremble and she gently placed her hands on Fang's shoulders to steady herself. Not breaking the kiss in the process. Their lips moved in perfectly sync. Unfortunately, the need to breathe got too great, so they slowly separated, but their lips stayed close so that they could start their kissing session again if they wanted to.

"Wow. . . that was. . ." Lightning didn't find the right words.

"Quite intense, I would say." Fang ended the sentence, smiling as she saw a blush forming on Lightning's cheeks.

"Yes, that's for sure." On impulse Lightning closed the gap again to slightly peck Fang's lips.

"What was that for?" Fang asked, her eyes still closed and a smile adorning her face.

"I just wanted to, but. . ." Feeling slightly insecure, Lightning wanted to back away, but Fang stopped her by saying: "I mentioned it before, I really like your touch and don't be afraid to kiss me whenever you feel like it okay?"

Lightning nodded relieved.

"Now maybe we should talk about what has happened in your office. I don't want a repeat of the situation, you know, the one where I got myself slapped." Fang grinned smugly.

"I don't want that either." Lightning smiled reassuringly.

They sat in silence for few moments until Lightning decided to tell Fang about her insecurities regarding her family secret and relationships in general.

"One of my biggest secrets you already know and you are fine with it. Am I right?" Fang nodded in return. "But. . . you know, when you carry such a weight and . . .let's just say it's not easy to trust someone, for me at least. Every time someone tries to get too close to me I shove them away, talking something about work and how important that is to me. Don't get me wrong, my work is important to me, but. . . these have just been excuses to get rid of those people." She sighed deeply. "Now I don't want that anymore." She gazed deeply into Fang's green eyes. "I want to be close to you, but on the other hand I'm terrified that you . . . that. . ."

Fang gently took Lightning into her arms, gone was the confident businesswoman. "I know, but you can trust me. . .please. . ."

She felt Lightning's nod on her shoulder.

Lightning didn't know why, but from the start she felt a strong connection between Fang and herself. She knew, that the brunette wouldn't let her down. This feeling was new and a little bit frightening, but on the other hand it felt freeing and safe.

Therefore Lightning decided to trust Fang without any 'if's' or 'but's'.

She stayed a few minutes longer in Fang's warm embrace until she slowly lifted her head and smiled sincerely at her employee.

"I trust you." She softly whispered.

"I'm glad. . ." Fang replied just as softly.

Fang slowly lessened the gap between their lips again until she felt the rose-haired woman's lips softly pressed against her own. The kiss was slow and tender. Their lips moved in sync once again and they just wanted to feel the warmth of one another.

As the kiss ended Lightning gazed deeply into Fang's eyes and saw the same love she felt reflected in there.

 _Love?_ Lightning thought. _Did she really just think about love? Was it not a little bit too early for this?_ But looking once again into Fang's green orbs, she was sure, that she fell in love along the way.

This thought scared her because she didn't know if Fang felt the same way. Yes, there was this attraction between them, but was Fang willing to try something more?

"Light? Everything okay? I said your name twice, but . . .?" Fang asked puzzled.

"Y-yes, just . . . thinking . .. I guess. . ."

"You guess? Come on Light, what's going on?"

"If it's possible I would really talk about it another time. Please. . ." Lightning gazed at Fang, a lost look in her eyes.

"Sigh. . .okay, but you can trust me, remember? So don't hold anything back. Promise?"

"Promise." Lightning nodded.

"Okay, fine. Uhm. . . then . . . I think I should go now. We talked about our misunderstanding and everything so. . ." Fang rambled.

"Yeah, I think so." Lightning responded, unsure what to say next.

"Will I. . . will I see you again? I mean . . .out of work. . .I . . ." Light placed her index finger on Fang's lips to stop her rambling.

"Yes, you will." She smiled happily. "I owe you a date." She winked at the poor brunette.

"R-right." Fang stuttered and blushed.

After one last sweet kiss, Fang walked out of the door and drove home. The whole way she was smiling like an idiot. Same as Lightning.

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Finally chapter 5 is ready.

I know, you all probably wanted the end of the chapter to be a little bit different, but I think it's a little bit too early. ^^

Hope you liked it nonetheless.

See you around!


	6. Chapter 6

*Knock knock*

*Author looks around the corner*

Hi, I know that the next update took excessively long, but you know how it is. Life, work and so on O_O

To tell you the truth I was a little bit afraid to post the next chapter. Didn't know if someone wanted to murder me because of the late update ^^

So, please enjoy the next chapter and tell me what you think.

I also started writing the next one. (So please let me live to write it till the end^^)

Chapter 6: Love will find a way

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Monday arrived far too late for Lightning and Fang who couldn't wait any longer to see each other again. After clearing their misunderstanding and the kisses here and there Lightning felt like flowing on a cloud the whole days.

Little did she know that she would fall off this cloud the moment she stepped into the office building. Her smile faded instantly and her eyes became sharp and cold like the blade of her sword.

"Miss Farron, what a pleasure." Caius Ballad greeted her friendly. His best charming smile in place. He was a handsome man, yes, and many women definitely fell for him, but not Lightning C. Farron. She despised him since seeing him for the first time.

Lightning shook the offered hand automatically and said: "Mr. Ballad, I expected you on Wednesday. Am I mistaken about our appointment?"

She lifted one brow to show her irritation and disapproval of the situation.

"No, you are not, but I thought it would be better to meet as soon as possible. It is a very delicate topic and needs our full attention." He responded. "Don't you think?"

Lightning didn't miss the light undertone that he thought her not responsible enough for such an important topic, but she choose to ignore the comment and be polite.

"Regardless the importance of the topic, you could have called first to arrange a new appointment. This is rather inconvenient, because I have a full schedule today." Lightning tried to reason to get rid of this man.

"Then I will only take an hour of your precious time." He still smiled.

 _Please someone safe me. . ._ Lightning thought.

Just in this moment, her savior entered the office building. Fang.

She quickly scanned the scene in front of her and decided to help Lightning out a little bit. Sensing automatically that Lightning needed her to do something. Moreover, after recognizing the man next to Lightning everything was crystal clear.

"Good morning Miss Farron. Hope your weekend was nice." She smiled sincerely.

"Good morning Miss Oerba, thank you. It was really relaxing." Her eyes shone with gratitude.

Fang smiled back and then faced her former boss.

"Good morning Mr. Ballad."

"Miss Oerba, what a nice coincidence seeing you here." He tried his best to charm both woman with his dashing smile.

 _Idiot._ Fang and Lightning thought.

Giving in to Ballads demand for the re-scheduled meeting Lightning said: "Mr. Ballad, let's go to my office. We will talk about the merger there. Miss Oerba, would you please accompany us."

Lightning didn't wait for a response and walked confidentially to her office. Fang following her immediately.

Once in her office she closed the door and motioned for her guests to take a seat.

Lightning didn't offer anything to drink, because she wanted that her "guest" left as soon as possible. Therefore, she said down, too and waited for him to start.

"Okay, it's really great that we finally found the time for this meeting." He started and Lightning wanted to punch him right then and there.

"As I mentioned before I want our companies to merge so that we can cover more of the local market than we would possibly achieve alone."

"You mean what you won't achieve without the help of my company. As far as I know, we are still way in front of your own business. So tell me, what is the benefit for me?" Lightning challenged.

"It's quite obvious. We could work together on far greater projects and. . ."

Lightning stopped him by lifting her right hand.

"That's all nice, but I really don't see MY benefit. We already have quite big projects running."

"Yeah, but let me explain. . ." He was stopped again, but this time a telephone started ringing.

"Excuse me." Lightning took her mobile phone and looked at the caller id. "I have to take this call." Then she left the office, leaving Fang alone with this idiot.

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"Serah? What's wrong? Why are you calling?" Lightning was worried.

"Hi sis. . .cough. . .I wanted . . . cough . . ."

"Serah?"

"Yeah, sorry. . .I think I got a little flu. I just . . . cough. . .wanted to ask if you would be so kind to pick up some medicine after work."

"Of course. Don't worry, I'll try to leave earlier. See you Serah."

"Thanks Light."

She put the phone back into her pocket and opened the door to her office. Quite a sight greeted her there.

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Ballad was looming above Fang, holding her hands in place so that she couldn't move a muscle.

Then she heard him say. "It's payback time sweetie."

Fang looked shocked; unable to do something she saw his face getting closer and closer. Then her view fell on the opening door and she whispered: "Light. . ."

Ballad whirled around and the last thing he saw was red light engulfing the woman at the door, then an unknown force pulled him away from Fang and he crashed against the nearest wall.

"Fang. . ." Lightning rushed over to the woman, who still laid on the couch. She softly touched her cheek. "You okay?"

Fang slowly nodded and with Lightning's help sat up straight. She looked at the unconscious Ballad and Odin who stood next to him, keeping guard.

"Claire. . ." She fell into Lightning's embrace, feeling secure again. She wasn't afraid to show her emotions right now.

"It's okay, you are safe now." Light gently caressed her back.

A low moan brought them back to reality and Lightning ordered Odin to leave before Ballad could see him.

"Gah. . . my head. . ." He was on his knees, using his right hand to search for any head wound.

"You were lucky." Lightning addressed him coldly.

"What happened?" He asked innocently and looked at the women on the couch, hugging each other.

"Leave . . . now." Lightning's voice screamed authority. "There will never be a merger between our companies and after today my main goal is to erase your company completely from this world. Think of it as a war declaration. And now leave my sight!" She almost growled.

"Tch . . . women . . ." He stood up and walked to the door. "This game is not over." Then he left and closed the door loudly.

Lightning pressed Fang a little bit closer to herself. She felt the woman still tremble.

"Fang?" No response.

Lightning gently lifted her chin with her index finger and waited until the brunette opened her eyes.

"He is gone. You are safe now." She reassured again and tenderly placed her lips against the trembling ones of Fang.

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Meanwhile Ballad was in front of the office building, sitting in his black limousine and replaying the video he had secretly taken with his watch.

"Very interesting Miss Farron. We will definitely meet again." He grimly stated.

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Fang was still in Lightning's office, feeling slightly embarrassed because of her emotional breakdown.

"I'm sorry, Lightning."

"Don't be. I would have reacted the same way when such an asshole had tried to attack me." She smiled reassuringly.

"Thanks." Fang returned the smile.

"How about we take the rest of the day off and just I don't know. . . relax?" Lightning suggested.

"I would really like that."

"Okay, then let's go. Just give me a minute to cancel my other appointments and then we are out of here."

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Fifteen minutes later, they both sat in Lightning's car. Lightning had refused to let Fang drive alone and so after a short argument Fang had agreed to take Lightning's car.

"You can be quite bullheaded, you know?" Fang asked grinning.

"Yes, I know and I know you like it." Lightning winked back, earning herself a blush.

"Just drive. . ." Fang mumbled.

"As you wish."

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After arriving home Lightning wanted to open the door, but stopped suddenly.

"Light?"

"Shit, I forgot the medication for Serah."

"What medication?"

"She caught the flu and asked if I could grab some medicine on my way back home. You remember the phone call?"

"Oh, okay. . . then. . ."

Suddenly the door opened and a not so ill looking Serah was in front of them.

"Serah?"

"The one and only. Oh hi Fang."

"Hi Serah, I thought you . . . you know . . . uhm . . ."

"Ah yes, the flu . . . don't worry, I'm perfectly fine." She smiled. "I just wanted to be sure that Lightning gets home early. It is her birthday after all."

"Wait a moment, you tricked me? You little. . ."

"Woah, stop, both of you." Fang stepped between the two sisters, then turned around and glared at Lightning. "Today is your birthday? When did you intend to tell me? I mean . . . you are unbelievable . . .really."

"Slow down, Fang. It's just a day like all the others."

"No, it's not! And when you had told me I would have prepared something special."

"Fang. . ."

"No, don't Fang me. I can't believe you didn't tell me." Fang stormed into the house and left a stunned Serah and Light behind. Maybe she had overreacted a bit, but after the incident in Lightning's office she still felt agitated.

"Okay. . . good luck with getting on her good side again." Serah mentioned. "I think I will stay out of this."

"What do you mean?"

"Light, you obviously hurt her. Go apologize. I will stay at a friends home. . . again." She waved goodbye and disappeared out of the door.

 _Sigh . . . Here we go. . ._

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Lightning entered the living room where she spotted Fang sitting on the couch, her arms crossed and a hurt look showing on her face.

"Fang?" Lightning cautiously approached the brunette.

"Fang? Please. . .let's talk." She tried again, but didn't get a response.

"Sigh . . . okay, you are angry and obviously choose to ignore me, but please it's just a normal day to me. It has been this way since. . . yeah. . . since ever . . . I think."

Fang faced her and responded. "But with me it doesn't have to be. Sigh . . . Light. . . if I had known that today is your birthday I would have liked to celebrate it with you. To shower you with presents and invite you to dinner. But. . . you choose not to tell me. . . Why? This really hurts, you know? It feels like I am not important enough to you to share these personal things with."

"Fang. . ." Lightning sat beside her girlfriend and placed a hand gently on her knee. "Please don't think that you are not important to me. I mean . . . it's very new to me to have a-a-a . . . girlfriend, but I . . ."Lightning stopped abruptly _. Love you._ She thought. _I'm in love with Fang._

"Light? Hey, you alright?" Fang waved her right hand in front of the rose haired woman.

"Y-yes, I was just. . . I . . .uhm . . . I think I lost my train of thought. . ." She replied sheepishly.

"Don't worry, I think I got the message. But next time, please tell me such important things, even if you don't think they are worth mentioning okay?"

"Okay." Lightning responded and smiled.

"So. . . now, how do you want to spent the rest of your birthday? Wanna go to a restaurant?"

"No, if it's okay, I just want to stay home and maybe watch a movie?"

 _She is just too cute when she's all shy_. Fang thought.

"Of course, that's fine by me. What do you want to watch?"

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Fang was a little bit surprised upon Lights movie decision, because she would have never thought, that the tough business woman would choose such a sweet movie almost without any real action scenes. It was an animated movie, too. It's called „Frozen".

„You okay with this?" Lightning asked shyly and blushed.

"Yes, of course." Fang smiled. "To say the truth I'm surprised you even know that movie. I mean it's . . .uhm. . . it's a kids movie and you are. . .you know what I mean?"

"I think so." Lightning sat down next to Fang on the comfortable couch and snuggled up to her. Fang on the other hand placed her left arm around Light to pull her closer.

"I really like this movie because at the end . . . it doesn't matter to Anna or anyone else that Elsa has these powers. They love her just the way she is." Light explained her choice of movie and gazed at Fang. Her eyes shining with vulnerability like never before.

"Claire. . ." Fang whispered. She didn't know what to say. It was very rare that Light opened up like this. "Your powers are a special gift, but they don't define the person I fell in love with. They are just a tiny part of you." Fang kissed her sweetly.

"Thank you." Tears glistening in her eyes as she hugged Fang tightly, her head resting on the brunettes shoulder. "I love you, too." It just felt right to say these words to Fang. At first she was surprised to realize her feelings, but why. . . she didn't really know. Everything was crystal clear right now.

"Claire. . . I. . ." Light placed her index finger on Fang's soft lips and shook her head no. No words were necessary right now. Therefore, she placed her lips on the warm and soft ones of Fang. The kiss was tender and slow. All their love for one another flowing freely. No one had the intention to deepen the kiss. Both knew that it might be too soon to take the next step of their relationship.

They separated after a few seconds that felt like minutes to them.

"This is the best birthday ever." Lightning almost glowed out of happiness.

"I'm glad to hear that." Fang placed her right hand on Light's soft cheek, caressing her tenderly. A short peck on the lips later, both sat on the couch again, snuggled together with as less space between them as possible.

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Only Fang was awake as the end credits rolled down the television screen. Lightning's head rested on her shoulder. She was sleeping peacefully.

Meanwhile Fang let the minutes in Lightning's office come to life again. She was a good fighter and knew self-defense, but all her training was useless in this precise moment. But why? She was sure that if Lightning hadn't come back this fast, that Ballad might have. . .Fang shook her head to get rid of this disgusting thought.

This motion caused Lightning to stir and slowly she awoke from her deep slumber.

"Fang. . .?" She asked sleepily.

"Oh. . .sorry, did I wake you?"

"No, not really. What time is it?" Lightning sat up straight, trying to get the sleep out of her eyes.

Fang noticed, that Light seemed more relaxed around her.

"Shortly passed 6pm. Why do you ask?"

"Just hungry, I guess." Fang smiled and nodded.

"Yeah, me too. Want to order something? I don't feel like cooking."

"Pizza?"

"Sounds good."

After deciding what they want to take, they called the restaurant, gave their orders and sat down again on the couch, waiting for their food to arrive.

"Light?"

"Mh?"

"May I ask a really personal question?" Fang asked timidly.

"What do you want to know?" Light asked with a little tremble in her voice. _Remember, no secrets Claire._

"Is I possible to show. . . I mean I would like to see. . . uhm. . . your guardian?" Fang whispered at the end.

"You want to see Odin?" Light asked just to make sure she got that right.

"Yes, please." Fang nodded. "I've only seen him before he knocked me out and the time in the cellar I was too afraid to take a closer look. Of course I don't want to mention today in your office."

Light stood up from the couch and was now right in front of Fang, holding her hand out to the brunette.

"I will show you." She smiled and pulled Fang up, giving her a short peck on the lips, before she backed up a few steps.

Light concentrated on her power, willing Odin to appear. The red light engulfed her; a large rose pattern appeared on the ground with Lightning standing in the middle. She closed her eyes, took a deep calming breath and by opening her eyes, she whispered: "Odin."

The warrior appeared in all its glory right in front of Fang, who backed away a few steps. The light around Odin slowly faded, only his green and silver armor shone in the dim lit living room. His eyes scanned the scenery and focused directly on Fang who tried not to move a muscle.

"You can relax around him, you know?" Lightning walked up to Fang and took her left hand, rubbing soothing circles with her thumb. "He won't attack you unless he thinks I'm in danger or I order him to."

"Now I really feel safe around him." Fang gulped.

"Don't worry." Light walked up to Odin and pulled on Fang's hand so that she had no other choice as to follow the rose haired woman.

Now right in front of the guardian Fang felt really small and vulnerable.

Suddenly Odin moved and kneeled down in front of Lightning, showing his respect. Fang didn't see this coming and stepped back, only to stop, when she felt Lightning standing right behind her. Lightning placed her arms around Fang and hugged her gently.

After another reassuring kiss on the cheek, Lightning stepped beside Fang again and asked: "Do you want to just stand there?" She smiled sweetly at the still stunned brunette.

"S-sorry, but this is the first time I see your guardian this close. He is beautiful." Fang gazed at Light and returned the smile.

"Nothing in comparison to you." Light complimented her girlfriend. Fang deeply blushed a bright red in response.

"You. . ." She warned lightly.

A sudden ringing coming from the front door disturbed the sweet moment. Both heads whirled around to the door.

"Just the damn door bell." Fang cursed.

Lightning nodded and whispered: "Odin. . ."

Her guardian understanding the silent message disappeared into thin air.

Then both woman walked up to the door and Light opened it. A young friendly pizza boy greeted her.

After receiving the pizza and paying, they moved back to the living room to enjoy the meal.

"I think I almost got a heart attack." Fang said, placing a hand where her heart was beating like crazy.

"I know. . . This was quite the surprise." Light agreed.

"Light?" The rose haired woman faced her companion, waiting for her to speak. "Thank you for showing me." Fang smiled.

"You are very welcome. I feel . . . kind of relaxed, that I don't have to hide this part of myself. Thanks for accepting me."

"You are also very welcome." Fang placed a soft kiss on Lightning's lips. "Now, let's eat."

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They are just sooooo sweet together, don't you think?

That was chapter 6. I'm glad, that I finally found the time to upload it on FanFiction.

Hope you liked it!

See you soon.


	7. Chapter 7

Hi there. *waves friendly*

I'm not dead! *dance around and grins stupidly*

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

I proudly present a brand-new chapter of "The Truth Beneath The Rose".

It's a little bit shorter than the last ones, but I thought it is better than not to upload a new chapter!

Please enjoy reading it and leave a message or two or more. Whatever you like.

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The rest of the week was uneventful. Lightning and Fang enjoyed their time together and the incident regarding Ballad was long forgotten.

Ballad on the other hand used this time to research what this creature, he had seen in Light's office, might be. By coincidence he found some ancient articles about guardians and the humans wielding their powers. They were rare and everyone thought that the last human sharing their fate with the guardian died long ago. Obviously, they have all been wrong.

He grinned evilly. _I would have never thought to be that lucky._

He knew, that he now possessed a trump card against Lightning Farron. The problem was how to use it. Of course, he could easily blackmail her or threaten her, but then he would lose the surprise effect. His plan was easy. He wanted the power, but without having to deal with the person itself. Therefore, maybe it was possible to separate them and then use the guardian as some kind of puppet.

Fortunately, Ballad knew just the right person to ask. This person was a little bit crazy, but he liked everything regarding magic and possessed a lot of wisdom to maybe find a way in helping Ballad.

He prepared his laptop and then walked out of the office to visit his old friend: Sephiroth.

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"I really hate this." Ballad said to no one in particular.

Sephiroth lived very far outside of town, somewhere in the woods and the way was not very pleasant to drive. After four hours Ballad finally reached the small house, which was hidden behind huge trees deep in the woods.

"Finally." He breathed out.

Carefully stepping out of the car he knocked at the front gate and waited. A beeping sound caught his attention and he looked to the right. A camera rotated in his direction and he waved his hand as a greeting.

A loud crackling sound was heard afterwards and the gate in front of Ballad opened automatically. A computer voice said: "Please take the elevator to level A."

He knew that the house was fake and all the laboratories and equipment were safely placed underground. The place hadn't changed a lot after his last visit.

It was still a dark place, even if the walls were painted white and the whole corridor was decorated with some nature paintings. There was no door, only the elevator at the end. Every meter was a camera who observed his steps carefully.

Ballad knew, that one wrong move would cost his life. This corridor meant death to every unwelcomed intruder.

Carefully he walked to the elevator and did what he was told.

He breathed a sigh of relief as he entered the elevator and the metal doors closed silently in front of him.

Only a few seconds later the elevator stopped and the metal doors opened silently again.

He was greeted by his old friend. Maybe friend was not the right word, but they had almost the same future plans. Ballad wanted to have the most powerful weapon building company in the world and Sephiroth just wanted the world. There would be a place for both of them. Maybe. . .

To tell the truth Ballad was a little bit afraid of his old friend. He had this frightening appearance. His hair was knee long and white, he always wore these black outfits like someone of these vampire movies. But the most frightening thing were his dark green eyes. They held a cold that just by looking at him you started trembling with fear.

"Sephiroth." He bowed down slightly.

"Ballad, why the sudden visit?" He sounded suspicious.

"I have found something that will probably be of interest for you, too." He smiled maliciously.

"Let's see." He turned around and walked deeper into the dark corridor. Ballad just followed him.

Sephiroth entered an office on the right side and sat down behind a huge black wooden table, gesturing for Ballad to do the same.

"So, then show me your findings."

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Meanwhile Fang and Light didn't suspect any upcoming danger and enjoyed their time together in the park. They both took a day off and sat now together on a blanket in a secluded area of the park to enjoy their picnic.

Fang had found this place not long ago and wanted to take Lightning here to show her, that her life didn't consist only of work. It was also a late birthday gift.

The place was surrounded by huge trees and some rock formations. In the middle was a small lake and an even smaller waterfall. It was quiet and peaceful. Fang was sure that nobody would find them because it was pure coincidence that she had found it herself. A small path that looked like a dead end was a road to this beautiful scenery.

"It's really nice here. Thanks for showing me, Fang." Light smiled peacefully.

"You are very welcome, sunshine." Fang grinned.

She also enjoyed these rare moments between them, when everything felt like they were the only two people on the planet.

Fang brought some sandwiches and orange juice to enjoy their picnic. But before she presented the delicious food, of course prepared by herself, she suggested something more relaxing.

"How about we go swimming? The weather is nice and it would be a shame to just sit here."

Lightning didn't think that it would be good idea and she voiced her thoughts out loud. She was not very comfortable to bath without the proper clothing.

"But, what about people coming here? I don't want them to see me half naked and. . ."

"Don't worry, Light. Not many people know this area. The only one seeing you naked will be me." Fang smiled and watched Lightning blush deeply red.

"Okay. . ." Light mumbled.

"Okay to what?" Fang questioned surprised. "To go swimming or for me to see you naked?" She teased.

Lightning faced her, ignoring her blush and replied: "For both." The blush intensified again.

Fang didn't expect such a bold response and blushed in return.

"I will get you back for that." She said smiling sweetly.

"We will see." Lightning laughed. A happy smile adorning her face.

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"So, what do you think? Is it possible to get the powers and use them myself?" Ballad asked.

"Of course it is. Unfortunately the human will not survive the procedure, but I don't think, that this matters to you. Am I right?"

"Yes, she is dispensable."

"Good, I will give you a weapon to capture the subject and you have to bring her here. We will then start the extraction process."

"Okay, good and what is this weapon? Is it powerful enough?" Ballad didn't look convinced.

"Yes, it is, don't worry. The weapon I will give you is the guardian of the last human wielding such a power. It is a giant dragon, personally I think, that it is the most powerful amongst all of them."

"And how do you think it is possible to hide this creature? I mean, people will see it, when I walk along the streets, don't you think?" He almost rolled his eyes to emphasize his words.

"Don't worry, here, take this." Sephiroth handed Ballad a small black stone. "You can summon him with this and give your orders."

Ballad took the object.

"Do I have to say something special? I mean like a code word?"

"No, just think about what you want to do and the dragon will follow your every order."

"Thanks." He bowed respectfully and left the office. _Don't worry Lightning Farron, I will get you soon._ He smiles darkly.

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Even if Fang couldn't wait to see her beloved Lightning half naked she fulfilled her wish and they ate the sandwiches first. Fang knew, that it was just a tactic to postpone the swimming part, but she was also stubborn and would get what she wanted. Inwardly she was smiling.

After their meal, Fang began to strip down to just her underwear.

"Fang, what are you doing?" Light asked and tried to avoid checking out Fang's body.

"I will go swimming as I said earlier. Feel free to join me." She smiled and walked up to Light, whispering hotly in her ear: "Personally I would really like to see you all wet, too."

She backed away, leaving a madly blushing and flustered Light behind. She went into the refreshing water, waiting for Lightning to take her turn.

Slowly recovering from Fang's teasing Lightning sat still on the blanket and did everything to avoid staring at the goddess in the lake.

"Hey Light. . . Liiggght. . ." Fang called her, but Light choose to ignore it.

"Claire. . ." This got a reaction out of Light and she faced Fang who smirked back at her. "I knew you would look at me when I call you that. Why won't you join me? The water is really nice."

"No, thanks, I don't have my swimsuit. I told you before." She averted her gaze again. So she didn't notice that Fang got out of the water until she kneeled in front of her.

"Claire. . ." Her head shot around, her eyes sending daggers at Fang. "You don't leave me a choice."

"Wh . . . aaaaahhhh." Light was scooped up bridal-style and Fang carried her to the lake.

"Put me down! Right now!" Light demanded.

"Nope."

Then without warning Fang threw Lightning into the lake. The pink haired woman screamed as she crashed into the water. Seconds later her head shot up again and she glared daggers at Fang who was still standing on the edge of the lake. Upon seeing Lightning's face, she started laughing uncontrollably.

Fang also got into the water and walked up to Light, who still glared at her.

"Come on, sunshine. It was a joke. Don't be mad. Please?"

But Lightning just walked past her, wanting nothing more than to get out of the water, get her clothes dry somehow and ignore Fang for the rest of the day.

A hand on her wrist stopped her, before she could get away.

"Look at me . . . please." Fang silently pleaded. "Please. . ." Fang repeated softly.

With a heavy sigh Lightning turned around, but didn't face Fang immediately, so the brown-haired woman placed her thumb and index finger on Light's chin to gently lift it up.

The sight before Fang was so breathtaking that she couldn't form a coherent sentence.

Light's hair was wet, a few shades darker than normally and it clung to her face just beautifully. She looked like a sea goddess. Even her eyes looked more vulnerable and somewhat anxious than ever before.

Losing control Fang leaned in and captured the shorter woman's slightly trembling lips with her own. The kiss was soft and tender and within seconds Lightning returned the kiss and placed her arms around Fang's neck. Fang moaned into the kiss and placed her right hand on Lightning's cheek, meanwhile the other hand encircled her waist and pulled her even closer to her own body.

Fang dominated the kiss and pushed Light slowly up against the edge of the lake. As her back hit the edge, she broke the kiss and took a deep breath. Fang wanted to dive in and capture those sweet lips again, but a hand on her shoulder stopped her.

"Light. . .? You okay?" Fang asked concerned.

Light only shook her head and avoided facing Fang again.

"You can talk to me, you know that. Please. . . don't shut me out. . ." Fang bowed her head slightly to get a glimpse at Lightning's eyes.

Without answering Lightning took Fang's right hand in her own and placed it above her own breast, right where her heart was beating like crazy. Then she looked up, tears shining in her eyes.

"I . . .it's just. . .I've never felt so much for anyone. I. . .every time we are together my heart beats like this and I can't stop thinking about you. I. . . I am afraid, afraid that I'm not good enough or that you. . ." Fang stopped Lightning's rambling by placing her index finger softly on her lips.

"You definitely think too much, sunshine." Fang smiled, glad that the pink haired woman shared her emotions now so freely.

"Do you know how much I want to touch and to feel you right now? It is really hard to stop myself sometimes because I love you so much. I would never ever look at another woman like I look at you." She kissed Lightning softly on the lips to emphasize her words.

"Then don't stop." Lightning whispered.

"What. . . what do you mean?" Fang asked unsure.

Light faced her and said once again: "Don't stop yourself. . ." She gulped nervously. "Take me here. . .right now."

Fang was left speechless. After this bold statement, she could do nothing but capture those sweet lips again in a kiss full of love and uncontrolled passion.

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Aaaaaannnndd . . . . . . . . cliffhanger!

I'm just sooooo bad! ^^ Did you really think I would give you the whole story? Smut and everything?

No, but I promise the next chapter won't be a progress of the story. It will be smut, the whole chapter! Yeah, something to look forward to ^^

So, see ya around.

Have a great day and don't forget to leave a review!

P.S.:

It will take a little bit time to write the next chapter. . . SORRY!


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